Second Chances
by crazy paranoid psycho
Summary: Naruto is dying thanks to Sasuke, and the only way to stop this is to go back to the past... Plot unoriginal, I don't care. Future pairings: NaruHina, SasuSaku, NejiTen and ShikaIno. Note the 'Future' part. Slightly OOC.
1. The timetravelling jutsu

**Chapter 1**

A solitary figure lay in the Valley of the End, where he was left there to die by his 'so called' best friend. The figure wore a normally orange jumpsuit, now stained red with his blood. The clothes were torn and there was a hole in his chest. His eyes were half-closed, showing that it was an unnatural shade of cerulean and his yellow hair that seemed to defy all laws of gravity hung over his face. His unusual whisker marks were as bold as ever.

"Sasuke… Why?" was what he said before he closed his eyes.

Then, in a whirl of leaves, another figure appeared. He searched the still body for a pulse, but found none. "Kami-sama… I was too late…" He whispered.

The famous Copy-ninja Hatake Kakashi then picked the body up, then started heading back to Konoha, to tell the grave news.

The retrieval mission was a failure. Uchiha Sasuke had escaped to go to Orochimaru and Uzumaki Naruto, self-proclaimed sixth Hokage, at the very young age of twelve, was dead.

… Or was he?

As a matter of fact, the said boy found himself near a cage inside his mind. He instantly knew where he was, as it is actually a really hard thing to forget that there is the most powerful of demons living inside your stomach. Especially since the tenant kept growling at his host for being so soft during the fight.

"…**You IDIOT! Didn't I tell you to kill the bas-" **At this point Naruto managed to block out what Kyuubi was saying. He no longer cared that much, as he was still contemplating what had happened.

'_Sasuke-teme… Tried to kill me… Was he that obsessed with his revenge? How could that asshole do that!_

'…_.Then again, what does it matter if I brought him back? Sakura-chan… Scratch that, _Sakura_ would be fawning over her **precious **Sasuke-kun! The villagers would blame me for 'tainting' their Uchiha!_

'_Anyway, why should I bother trying to be Hokage if most of the population wants me dead? Why should I even try to live? I'm starting to see no point since hardly anyone accepts me…'_

"**SHUT THE HELL UP!" **roared Kyuubi. **"I've been listening to your thoughts, (since this _is_ your mind) and I can't take it anymore! I probably only have a few more minutes left, since you're dying, and I don't want to hear your damn whining, you brat!"**

The boy blinked. "Dying?" he asked the fox. "What do you mean?"

"**What I mean is that you are dying at this very moment. Do I need to spell it out for you? D-Y-I-N-G, and you won't be able to prevent this death from happening, even with the help of that old hag."**

Then, to the demon's surprise, Naruto just shrugged. "Then that's it, I guess. If I die, everyone would be happy, I guess. My precious people would just have to get over my death, and I'm taking you down while I'm at it. Heck, the villagers would have a festival thanks to my death."

It was now Naruto's turn to be shocked to see Kyuubi's reaction. He laughed. **"Kit, are you just going to give those villagers the satisfaction of you dying? Are you _that_ weak?" **The fox then grew more serious,** "I actually had some hope for you, since your father was one of the best shinobi who ever lived. He was the one who sealed me in here, in fact."**

Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean… He was-"

"**You got it. His name was Hitomi Arashi**(1)**, or more commonly known to you guys, the Yondaime Hokage."**

"Wait, wait… I thought all demons hated humans, and here you are, praising him? I mean, what the heck?"

"**Kit… Didn't you ever wonder why he sealed me in you instead of just killing me? He was definitely strong enough to do it. But we're running out of time for me to explain," **hefinished, **"So… Do you still want to keep living and try to change the future? Or do you want to die here, and never know the true reason why Arashi never killed me?"**

"What? But I thought you said you can't prevent-"

"**When did I ever say that? I only said that you and the old hag couldn't fix it. I, however, can. But it's up to you. Personally, I'd go for living, but… Eh."**

"I'll go for living and try to bring Sasuke-teme back! It's my way of the ninja!" said Naruto, imitating Gai and Lee with his thumb up. Kyuubi inwardly shuddered.

"**Alright, alright, I'll show you the seals; just… don't do that, for the sake of my sanity." '_Don't those people have any shred of shame?' _**he thought. **"Now… Here are the seals you need to use as well as the necessary chakra…"**

-------------------

Meanwhile, outside of Naruto's mind, to say that Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, was worried would be the understatement of the year. Her healing techniques had no effect and even the Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu (2) had no effect on Naruto, and only the few medic-nins who helped with the technique would even come near a five-foot radius of him. Fortunately for the others, their conditions were stable and they were on the road to recovery. But while they were visited constantly by their friends and family, she was shocked to see only around five people came to visit the Kyuubi vessel. The most visiting being none other than a blushing Hyuuga Hinata. She chuckled at the thought of her fainting at the sight of Naruto covered in bandages, despite the sad fact that Naruto was-

No. She couldn't think that. It was too much to bear. She had lost her brother and her lover already. The mere thought of that cursed necklace killing the boy she was starting to regard as a little brother was starting to anger her. Why did she ever give him that stupid necklace? And why was life so cruel to her and her loved ones around her?

Suddenly, she spotted movement from Naruto out of the corner of her eye. His hands were starting to move to the seal of the bird, then to the hare. As he was doing more seals Tsunade realized what her surrogate brother was doing. She came across the jutsu while trying to find a way to bring her loved ones back to life but this required inhuman amounts of chakra and stamina. The technique was considered a kinjutsu for the high death rate so how in the world did he know about the time-traveling technique and how did he know what seals to use?

She was about to stop him from finishing the seals until she heard him. "Tsunade-baa-chan…" he muttered. A vein throbbed up in her temple. Here he was, almost dead, and the least he could have done was call her 'Tsunade-nee-chan' or 'Tsunade-sama'.

"Don't… stop me… Last chance at living…"

Naruto must have said that out loud without realizing it as he was still unconscious. The Godaime sighed and let him continue. If Kyuubi was that desperate to use a 98 death-rate jutsu she knew it really was his last chance. Ending at the seal of the monkey, there was a flash of light and Naruto was gone.

Tsunade looked sadly at the bed where Naruto once lied upon.

"Good luck, Naruto… Be the hero your father wanted you to be…"

Notes:

(1) I read this somewhere and I thought that it was a good name for him.

(2) The Chikatsu Saisei no jutsu was the regenerating technique the medic-nins used to heal Hyuuga Neji.

This is my first fanfic so be nice and review! And constructive critisms are very much appreciated!


	2. Explanations and the evil sensei!

The next chapter is up, mainly the fact is that I have no social life at all. XD

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Naruto. I was supposed to say/write/whatever this in the last chapter, but I forgot.

**

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**Chapter 2 **

Naruto woke with a start to find himself in his apartment. Looking outside, he noticed that it was night. He checked his clothes. No orange jumpsuit, but no hole or blood in chest either. That, he reasoned, was a good enough deal. Kyuubi must have been tormenting him and gave him some jutsu that knocked him out so that he could heal him quicker. That must be it.

…Wait. Kyuubi never does these kinds of things. He's the type that screams; "LOOK AT ME! I DID SO-AND SO! I AM SO PERFECT IN EVERY WAY!" or whatever. An example would be the attack on Konoha twelve years ago. It wasn't like he quietly killed off the villagers one by one. No, he had to kill them on a grand scale, so everyone could see how powerful he was. Not to mention immortal, yadda, yadda, yadda.

But look where it got him. So healing without his knowledge was out of the case. Then what jutsu did the furball give him? He knew the technique was real, as he felt the amounts of chakra and stamina leave him…

Sighing angrily, he paced around his room. Passing a nearby mirror, he then realized he looked much smaller than before. A LOT smaller than before. As if he was-

**"Wahahaha! You're four years old, brat! The jutsu I taught you was a time traveling one! Kami-sama, your expression was _priceless!_" **laughed Kyuubi.

Naruto seemed oblivious to the voice. "HOLY CRAP! I'M A FREAKIN' MIDGET!"

**"Well, no duh. You shrunk about a foot or so because you are FOUR – YEARS – OLD." **

This seemed to get through to the twelve – no, now four-year old.

"Well this is just great. I'm four years old, so this means I've lost all that chakra that I spent years trying to get. My movements are a lot more sluggish thanks to my lack of training… Thanks a bunch, fuzzy. Thanks for NOTHING YOU ASS!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, you demon brat! Some people are trying to sleep here!" A voice yelled from outside.

Naruto then realized that he was indeed, screaming his head off. He decided to lower his voice. "Alright, Kyuubi, a promise is a promise. Why didn't my dad just kill you when you killed all of those people?"

**"First of all, no need to say this out loud. I'm in your mind, remember? Now, as for why he didn't kill me…" **He pondered over this a bit, trying to remember what happened.

**Originally, I was the boss of the fox summons, but I only accepted a certain clan to be able to call my underlings as well as myself. That clan, of course, was yours, the Hitomis. **

**"Of course, many people became jealous and angry at this, and many attempts were made to steal the summoning scrolls. Their attempts were in vain, but one little insect managed to do the impossible. He summoned me into this realm without your father's knowledge. That asshole's name," **he spat the words out, **"Was Orochimaru.**

**"You see, the little prick was jealous of Arashi and this heightened when the Sandaime declared him as the Fourth Hokage. So he managed to steal my scroll and summon me on his first go. **

**When I appeared, I told him that I only obeyed none other than myself and the Hitomi clan. So he used a powerful Genjutsu to make me go berserk to become the arrogant, self-centered, cold-hearted bastard you knew all that time we communicated to each other. This resulted into both my master's death and your loss of parents, as your mother died in childbirth. It seems that seeing you nearly die snapped me out of the Genjutsu. **

**"So there you have it. The reason why your father sealed me in here was both that he knew that I wasn't evil, like everyone thought, and that he wanted me to tell of your birthright, young Hitomi Naruto, when I thought you were ready. Now then, any questions?" **

Naruto was shocked to the core to hear what he said. Finally, he asked in his mind, '_Why was my last name changed?' _

**"Simple. You had enough assassination attempts thanks to me already, so the Sandaime decided to change it so no one would connect you to 'Konoha's Yellow Flash' as Arashi was famous for in the Great Shinobi Wars. The man had quite a lot of enemies so it was perfectly logical to change your last name, in case of even more attempts on your life, at least until you were strong enough to claim your heritage." **

_'I've got one more question left. Will you help me be acknowledged, now that I get a second shot at this?' _

**"I am still bound to the Hitomi clan for your father's kindness and my sense of duty. I shall make you as strong as Arashi. Maybe even stronger than him, but under three conditions. First, you must swear to me that you will listen and obey me no matter what I request of you when training. Second, you must respect me as I will respect you. Finally, I want retribution for what Orochimaru did to me. Do we have a deal, Kit?" **

_'Well…' _

**"Oh, did I forget? He also was the one who killed the Uchiha family. So in other words, he's the exact reason why Sasuke killed you and why Itachi left to Akatsuki. He could not prove his innocence so he was driven out, to seek revenge to whoever did the crime." **

_'I agree to your terms, Kyuubi-sensei. I swear that I shall kill Orochimaru.' _

**"Good, now before you go to sleep, come into your mind. I need you do something first." **

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated into the dark sewer-like cage that the nine-tailed fox was sealed in. He opened his eyes to meet Kyuubi's now softer expression. He also noticed that the room changed. What used to be a disgusting sewer had turned into a more elegant room.

**"Now, I want you to sign this."** He handed his container a summoning scroll. **"This is the contract for the foxes. Ever since that incident with the snake bitch, I held onto this and deleted his name before I lost my sanity. Only you and your kin are allowed to sign this. Do you understand?" **

The boy nodded and bit his thumb. Letting the blood spill, he signed the contract with the name 'Uzumaki Hitomi Naruto' on it. _'Kyuubi-sensei… what about the toads? How can I summon one from the other? Wait a minute, can I even summon them?' _

**"The time-traveling jutsu does not affect summon creatures. Your contract with them is still valid. Even the old geezer's monkeys will be aware that you can summon toads now. Just picture the animal in your mind, and summon them like you did with the toads. Of course, you're going to need to be able to control your chakra as much as possible, but promise me that this is to be a secret, so only tell this to your precious people," **said Kyuubi. **"Now go to sleep, you have a long training day ahead of you tomorrow." **

The boy did the seal of the ram and whispered "Kai." He faded back into his apartment. Realizing how tired he really was, he instantly fell asleep on his futon.

Deep in his container's mind the fox chuckled evilly. He knew that the next day was going to be hell for Naruto. After all, he wasn't known by his underlings as the "Sensei of death" for nothing.

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**"Kit, wake up! It's training time!" **roared Kyuubi. The boy in question yawned and rubbed his tired eyes. He looked at the clock. The time read 4 in the morning.

_'Ugh… just give me five more minutes, sensei…'_ he thought.

**"Dammit! Don't you want to get stronger? Don't you want to change the future of you dying? I thought we had a deal. Now, WAKE UP. Either that or I'll give you disturbing images that even the Ero-sennin wouldn't dream of." **

_'ACK! Alright, alright, I'm up. Just don't send me the images, please!'_ He replied frantically.

Contrary to popular belief, Naruto was not a pervert. He just looked into the girls' baths to develop the Orioke no Jutsu and the Harem no jutsu, which he adamantly claimed was unbeatable. Mumbling about sadistic teachers under his breath, he got up and did his usual morning activities. But when he was about to get the cup ramen, he was stopped by Kyuubi.

**"Not this unhealthy junk. For now, you are not allowed ramen until I notice that you are no longer obsessed with it. As for what's in the cupboard, burn it. There's only around five cups." **

Naruto could not believe what his tenant was saying. No more of his precious ramen? He was about to tell/think him a piece of his mind, but then he remembered that he never went back on his words.

_'Why the hell did I even make that my way of the ninja!' _Grudgingly, the poor boy did as he was bid.

**"Good. Now, was that so hard?" **said his tenant sweetly. **"Now go outside, your speed training begins today." **The boy visibly paled. This does not sound very pleasant.

Before he left his apartment, he noticed an envelope with enough money for his rent as well as some extra. Picking it up, he pocketed it as he left. **"Since this training is to be secret, I want you to use the month's rent for what we need. You are going to train and rest in the forest for now. Maybe rent the apartment every second month, I don't really care. **

**Now, first we need some new clothes. And please, don't buy that jumpsuit again. It SCREAMS 'Kill me'. Get some dark clothes, it helps with camouflage." **Naruto did this with little difficulty, though the first three shops kicked him out, the last one finally relenting but charging him very inflated prices. Next, he visited a nearby ninja shop, buying several weights.

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In the forest of Death, Naruto was exhausted. Wearing twenty-pound weights on both of his arms and legs as well as on his torso and then punching/kicking stumps for around twelve hours would probably be considered 'overkill' to most four year olds, but thanks to his tenant, the effort didn't kill him. However, he felt the gravity weighing him down badly, and if it weren't for his control, the ground would start to resemble the moon's craters. Too tired to move, he collapsed, where he met his teacher in his mind.

**"As you've knocked yourself out, which I guess was partly my fault… I'll basically teach you academy stuff, as you obviously didn't listen at all when you were with Iruka."**

The training went on like for about a year, where he practiced his father's taijutsu (thanks to Kyuubi), his ninjutsu and ran laps. While asleep, Kyuubi taught him theory, history and the like, to increase his intelligence, playing the occasional Shogi or Go as well. So far, Naruto had never once won against him, but then again, having lived for hundreds of years would give you a bigger advantage. Then he was enrolled in the ninja academy thanks to the Third Hokage, but it seemed that the Hokage got a lot more than he expected…

**-FLASHBACK- **

_"Ah, Naruto-kun, please sit down." _

_A nervous Naruto sat down on a chair in front of the Sandaime Hokage. Having a closer look at him, the Hokage noticed that the boy seemed to be well-built. He remembered watching his intense training through his crystal ball, but never truly knew who the teacher was. Assuming that it was one of the villagers, he gave it no second thought. _

_"Now… What is it you needed to talk about?" _

_After an internal debate with his tenant Naruto decided to tell the Sandaime about a bit of the future so that he would, at least, change a bit of the future. "I came from the future!" _

_"Oh?" the Hokage was, of course, not buying it, but decided to play along. "And how could you prove this, Naruto-kun?" _

_"Does 'Kyuubi-lives-in-me-and-I'm-the-Fourth's-son' help?" _

_The Sandaime Hokage gasped. That was supposed to be an S-rank village secret with the punishment of death. Also, the fact that Naruto was Arashi's son was only known to four people, two having left the village. His tone grew more serious. _

_"Alright, I believe you. Now, what is it you wanted to tell me?" _

_"First of all, there is going to be a peace treaty between the hidden Cloud and Leaf villages in a few weeks or so. The treaty is, in fact a ploy to capture Hyuuga Hinata. Her father kills the ninja trying to kidnap her and the village demands to have Hiashi-sama's body for his eyes. His brother interferes and sacrifices himself." _

_The Hokage nodded, making a mental note of this. "I see. Will any other important events happen?" _

_"One of the many important events will be known as the 'Uchiha Massacre'. Warning signs will be the unexpected death of Uchiha Shisui, which is around two days before the massacre happens. Uchiha Itachi apparently kills his whole family with the exception of Sasuke in around a year from now. This will result into Sasuke ultimately killing me. However, Itachi-san is innocent. It was Orochimaru who did it with a Henge no Jutsu." _

_"Orochimaru?" said the Hokage, remembering his traitorous subordinate bent on immortality. _

_"Hai, in doing so he is attempting to take Sasuke's body for his Sharingan eye. I am sorry, but that is all the information I am allowed to reveal." The boy bowed and turned to leave. _

_"Wait, Naruto-kun!" _

_"Yes?" _

_"I wish for you to enroll in the Ninja Academy. All of the other children your age are doing the same." _

_"Hai. I will enroll, but don't expect me to be doing more than average. I'd like to keep where I learnt my techniques from a secret. Besides, the old furball wouldn't want me to do something that stupid." _

_"So your sensei is-" _

_"Aa. He's the boss of the fox summons, Kyuubi. He is also a slave driver when it comes to training." Naruto then left. _

_The old man smiled thoughtfully at the Kyuubi vessel. _

_'Naruto-kun… Pretty soon you will surpass even the previous Hokages…" _

**­-END FLASHBACK- **

Naruto sighed irritably. He was going to spend seven horrible, torturous years back in the academy again. Four devoted only to theory, where he learnt nothing at all and three about ninja techniques, revision and the exam. Naruto remembered that he would have to rebuild friendships all over again. He sighed once more.

_'As Shikamaru says all the time, how troublesome…' _

Meanwhile, a certain five-year old genius sneezed.

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To those people who are actually reading this, thankies 

I'll consider putting pairings in, and if I will, it'd be NaruHina SasuSaku ShikaIno and TenNeji. I'll think of something...

Keep the reviews coming! I need to fuel my miniscule ego. :3

Ja ne!


	3. The failed Hyuuga kidnap attempt

Hi! Thanks for the reviews to those who sent them. I'm still pondering how I'll put the pairings in, but I'll think of something. After all, I'm thinking this up as I go.

But enough of my ranting! On with the new chapter!

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi. So is my dignity.

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**Chapter 3**

"Uzumaki Naruto! Wake up!"

The boy in question woke with a start, blinked a few times and yawned. Iruka sighed. Not only was Naruto going to be in his class for three and a half more years (Or even more if he failed the exam), the boy did nothing but sleep. And try to run off when he wasn't looking, something which made the whole class laugh.

The only odd thing was in tests, he proved to be quite average, surprising the chuunin. In fact, he was neither really good at anything, nor was he terrible at anything either. He just blended in with the crowd, his blond hair, whiskers and his pranks only giving him away. The most memorable involving his house, red paint, glitter, glue and an angry bull. It took him weeks to clean the mess up and he still shivered at the mere mention of it. (1)

Then again, reasoned Iruka to himself, the kid was brought up harshly because the villagers thought that he was the demon fox. Only a few people knew that Naruto and Kyuubi were different entities.

Banishing these thoughts for a moment, he said to the class, "As I was saying, before SOMEONE decided to take a nap, something is going to happen in a few days. Does anyone know what?"

At once a voice answered, "The Hidden Cloud village and the Leaf are going to sign a peace treaty."

"Thank you, Haruno-san. Like Sakura has mentioned, the two villages have decided to come to an agreement with each other and…"

Naruto blocked the rest out and then thought… of worst-case scenarios. _'In a few days time, the Cloud leader is going to try to kidnap Hinata-chan. What if Hokage-jiisan accidentally kills that guy? What if he kills her this time? What if… What the hell is so funny?'_ A confused yet irked Naruto glared daggers at a chibi Kyuubi in his mind, who was sniggering in the background.

"**Hinata-_chan? _Since when did you start calling her that?" **He asked slyly. **"And since when did you worry so much?"**

'… _Shut up! It just came out, alright? It was a fluke, I swear! I don't have a crush on anyone!'_

"**Kit, keep in mind that I can read your thoughts,"** he retorted flatly. **"If you weren't so infatuated with the pink haired girl, you might've noticed that she had a crush on you since you were around nine or so. I don't know what she sees in you though; she must've been in a permanent genjutsu or something."**

'_Urusai! _(2)_ Bastard fox…'_

"**Idiotic brat."**

'_Act your age, dammit!'_

"**Can't make me. Aren't you supposed to respect your elders?" **The chibi fox then proceeded to stick his tongue out and blow a raspberry.

'_Y'know what? I liked you better when you were a grumpy bastard. At least you knew when to shut up.'_

"**Fine then. I guess you don't want to catch that Cloud ninja. And to think I was going to tell you how to…"**

'_No! What are your demands! I'll do it, just tell me what!'_

"**Nothing. It's just fun messing with your mind. You're way too easy." **The Kyuubi then began to tell him what to do. Gradually Naruto began to show his trademark foxy smile at what he was hearing. He was going to make the ninja wish he never tried to kidnap Hinata.

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"The coast is clear, Gashira-sama."

A figure silently climbed the walls surrounding the Hyuuga compound. He knew that if the mission succeeded, he would be considered a hero. Looking around, he found the place to be unguarded. Hah! The Konoha ninjas truly were pathetic! Actually believing the treaty was real! To think that the Cloud village would back off when they were so close to gaining Konoha!

He scanned for the room the target was supposed to be sleeping in. Success! He found the outline of a small child and she was unprotected to boot!

The now smug ninja then landed into the grounds… then tripped on a wire. A circle of leaves surrounded him, and then fell away.

"What the-"

He was cut off by a bucket filled with honey dropped onto his head. Cursing the troublemaker who made this prank, he attempted to pull the bucket off… and failed. The perpetrator appeared to have added glue into this mixture. Thoroughly angry at this, he took out a kunai and sawed the blasted thing apart. Staggering in an almost drunken-looking state, the shinobi tripped onto yet another wire, setting off arsenals of water balloons. The figure slashed blindly at the approaching objects, mistaking them for shuriken and kunai. When the balloons burst angry fire ants flew out, bent to inflict pain onto the poor man. The honey wasn't helping much, either.

Finally, when the ninja thought things couldn't get possibly any worse, a final trap was set off, where kunai pinned him to the wall. To top it off, rabid squirrels (3) began to attack him, something he was terrified of since he was nine.

"ALRIGHT! I SURRENDER! JUST GET ME OUT OF THIS ACCURSED PLACE!" he screamed.

At once jounin, ANBU and chuunin surrounded him. Even the Hokage appeared.

A jounin then said, "You are under arrest for attempting to infiltrate the Hyuuga compound. How do you plead?"

"I'M GUILTY! JUST GET ME AWAY FROM THE SQUIRRELS!"

The Konoha ninjas looked at each other and burst into laughter. One managed to stop laughing long enough to do the seal of the ram and dispel what was revealed to be a genjutsu. Instantly, the rabid squirrels disappeared.

The Hokage then asked, "Kumo no Kuni no shinobi Gashira (4), do you deny that the treaty was false?"

No longer hysterical, he replied, "No. We just wanted to take the Hyuuga girl for her eyes. Please send me to jail or something, anywhere as long as it doesn't involve… those things."

The Hokage complied and sent him to Ibiki for interrogation.

The Hyuuga head, Hiashi, approached the Sandaime. "Hokage-sama, I heard the screams. What happened?"

The Hokage chuckled. "A very helpful person tipped me off that someone was going to kidnap your daughter. It seems that the same person caught him with a combination of traps and genjutsu. Be aware that there could be leftover traps near your household, Hiashi-san."

'_Naruto… You are becoming more and more interesting by the day…' _He thought as he headed towards his office.

Meanwhile, in his apartment, (as it was the month when he didn't sleep in the Forest of Death) Naruto was having a sneezing fit. _'Either someone has been talking about me quite a few times, or I've got a cold. Thanks for the great plan though, Kyuubi-sensei. Using the Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu _(5)_ mixed with your chakra and traps was hilarious.'_

"**Think nothing of it. It was funny watching the guy screaming his head off thanks to the genjutsu."**

'_Great! This means that Neji still has his father and Hinata-chan is safe!'_

"**Aha! How do you explain calling the girl with the –chan suffix _again!_****Admit it, you like the girl!"**

Naruto flushed. _'That's… not true! I don't love her or anything! She's just a friend… Yeah, I'll go with that, a… friend.'_

"**Kit, your lying is as appalling as Kakashi. I am definitely going to teach you the art of bullshitting tonight. Now go to sleep, you had your fun but we're still going to train at four in the morning."**

The Kyuubi vessel groaned. Even after a year, he was never going to get used to waking before dawn.

'_You're just trying to kill me because I called you a bastard, aren't you?'  
_  
The fox just laughed as a response.

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Notes!

(1) No really, don't ask about it. Even I don't want to know what prank he pulled.

(2) I think this means "Shut up" or something very similar.

(3) I have no idea where this comes from. I have an obsession with squirrels, alright!

(4) That's roughly translated as "Land of clouds head shinobi". It's the guy who got killed by Hiashi.

(5) **Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu** (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique) The genjutsu Kakashi uses on Sakura to give the illusion that Sasuke was dead.

That's about it. The next chapter probably will include the other 'Rookie Nine'!

...I think.

To the people that tell me update faster, I'm doing the best I can. I'm trying for both quantity and quality, and hurrying this up makes chapters shorter and duller.

P.S: Please review! Reviews fuel my happiness and will to write more:3


	4. The Uchiha massacre

KOMBAN WA, MINA-CHAN!

...Well, it's night when I updated, so there. (Technically it's morning, since it's past midnight, I guess.) It's been a while, hasn't it? Gomen, gomen. I was busy with Christmas, writers' block, the monitor being repaired, and my damn curse for being a lazy bastard. Again, I apologize to whoever is angry at the lack of updates.

And now for the Reviewers corner!

**Fic Slayr: **I think that I'm going to do the pairings anyway. Sorry. Also, like I said, I'm made this up as I went, and this chapter is the result of my half-asleep state.

**Gato-sama:** Honestly, I absolutely have no idea either. Maybe he'll be a lot nicer than before, I really don't know.

Send me more reviews! Any questions? Ask me!

I knew I should have done this a few chapters back... Eh. Okay, on with the show!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, although I do own this fic. If anyone actually wants to steal this, then you're even crazier than I'll ever be.

* * *

**Chapter 4**

It had been months after the failed kidnapping incident and it was a nice hot summer's day in the village of Konoha. The perfect weather for playing outside, especially for young, overworked children aspiring to become ninjas.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Instead, the children were trapped inside a humid, stuffy room, trying to listen to another boring lecture by their chuunin instructors. Or falling asleep, which was the apparent case for Naruto and a few others.

"Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji and Kiba! For the last time, WAKE UP! This is the seventh time I've woken you! See me after class for an extra lesson," said Iruka. The boys in question groaned.

"But Iruka-sensei," protested Naruto, "With your boring speech and this weather, it'll make even people who can't go to sleep out like a light. At this rate, it could be an S-rank genjutsu(1)." His classmates laughed at this, but immediately stopped when they noticed their teacher's expression of fury that even Kyuubi wouldn't be able to match. Then he forced a smile, which was eerily more terrifying than him angry.

"Naruto… We're going to have a little talk after this," he said calmly. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you… Much." Naruto was sweating bullets at this point. Whatever it was, he was positive it was not going to be pleasant. After the lesson (Which seemed to drag longer than usual), the four was held back for the 'extra lesson'.

"Now boys, to be a ninja, you must be able to concentrate," explained Iruka to the four (five if you counted the puppy on Kiba's head, Akamaru.). "Think about it this way. If you were given instructions that were important for the success of a mission and you weren't paying attention, then what would happen?" He closed his eyes trying to remember his old memories. "I was once like you four. I never paid attention to anyone, or anything; giving me the reputation of the dobe. So one teacher decided to help me concentrate by putting a leaf on my forehead. You have to concentrate all your chakra on it, which is what I'm going to do to you four. Now, any questions?" He opened his eyes to see… Four empty chairs and an open window.

"YOU BRATS! GET BACK HERE!" he shouted. By that time, the boys were little specks in the distance. Cursing angrily under his breath, the chuunin left his office.

"I need a stiff drink…" he murmured.

* * *

"Ne, Shikamaru. You run fast for a lazy guy," remarked Kiba. Akamaru yipped in agreement. 

"This is going to be so troublesome when Iruka-sensei catches us," he replied.

"So? It's still funny," said Naruto. "I'm going to wander around for a bit. What about you guys?"

"I need to go home and train. My dad's going to teach me the Jujin Bunshin no jutsu(2) so Akamaru and I can get stronger," said Kiba.

"Shikamaru and I are going to my house because my dad is friends with his dad and wants some… Sake or something. It's not something I was allowed to eat or drink, so I don't know what it is. Speaking of which, doesn't it mean that Ino's going to be there as well?" asked Chouji.

The future shadow user and tactician visibly paled. That girl was bossy, mean, manipulative, stubborn, and just plain evil. She vaguely resembled his terrifying mother.

Then again, she was kinda pretty...

Shaking the thought out his mind quickly, he whined, "Aw man, she's scary though. I hope I'm not in her team when we become ninjas."

_'That's just ironic ne, Kyuubi-sensei? To think that those three are going to be in the same team,' _thought Naruto amusedly.

**"Don't get your hopes up. You might do something that changes the teams, kit."**

The four split up and headed to their destinations. Naruto decided to go to the playground, for old time's sake, where he met a depressed looking blue-haired girl. (A/N: I wonder who _that_ could be… - -;;)

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!" he declared, pretending to flex his muscles. "And who would you be, m'lady?" he asked. The girl giggled at his antics.

"I'm… Hyuuga Hinata…" she replied quietly.

"Why were you so sad, Hinata-chan?" As dense as ever, Naruto failed to notice that Hinata blushed at 'Hinata-chan'.

"I… My otou-san called me weak. He says that I'm not fit to be a Hyuuga. He's even thinking of disowning me," she said. "He's right though. I am weak… I don't even like fighting…"

"That's rubbish! You're not weak, Hinata-chan, you can be strong in other places as a ninja, like a medic-nin or something! Whatever you do, don't give up and ignore your father's insults!" He exclaimed.

The girl smiled weakly.

"Thank you… Naruto-kun," she whispered.

"No problem! It's my duty as the next Hokage to sort troubles out! If you have any other troubles, don't be shy and ask me!" Giving another foxy smile, he hugged her and left the playground in a happier mood than when he came. Shocked at the sudden contact, she froze for a moment. Hearing the branch Hyuuga members calling for her to start returning home, she snapped out of her trance and headed back towards the estate.

She didn't stop blushing and she seemed to be in a quite happy mood, to the point that she didn't hear her father's cold insults and his inquiries to whether she had a cold or not.

* * *

Later that night, Naruto was visited by an ANBU with a bird mask on. "The Hokage-sama wishes for your audience," he said with a tinge of hostility in his voice. Naruto sighed. His status as the 'Damned Fox child' to both the villagers and most of the ninja forces was not revoked yet, something which irritated him immensely. 

"Hai, hai… I'm going…" He said. Then he noticed that the ANBU was already gone, knowing that it had better things to do than being with the 'Demon' or something similar to the effect.

Grinning evilly, Naruto made sure to remember the ANBU's mask and look him up later. He was going to get his… 'Present' in a matter of days, when he managed to figure out a suitable prank. With that thought in mind, he headed towards the Hokage's office. In there, he met a slightly more grave-looking Sandaime.

"Naruto-kun, thank you for coming on such short notice. Wait a minute, what happened to the ANBU I ordered to escort you?"

"He left. You know what they're like against the _Demon Child _or something close along those lines. By the way, can you lend me his profile for a few seconds? For some… reasons…" he trailed off, thinking up of an excuse.

"In a minute Naruto; the reason why I called you here was because Uchiha Shisui was murdered." At once Naruto forgot about his revenge and paid more attention to the Hokage's words.

"He was _WHAT!_"

"Yes, murdered. I was hoping maybe the Kyuubi could help stop the upcoming massacre."

**"Ask him if Itachi is going to be assigned to a mission these coming seven days or so. Also, ask whether Itachi himself knows about this already." **replied the fox.

"Hokage-jiisan, will Itachi-san be assigned to a mission these coming seven days and does he even know about this?"

"No, I took him out of duty for the time being and yes, he knows. Why do you ask?"

**"The thing is that Itachi was said to be stronger than Orochimaru so with that thought in mind, I was thinking of hiding the members of the Uchiha family who will actually believe the old geezer, then filling their gaps with Kage Bunshins**(3)** using Henges**(4)**. Pretend to put Itachi on a mission that would require days to finish, then finally ambush the snake freak when he attacks with Itachi and the geezer himself.****"**

Naruto then relayed the information back to the Sandaime. The Hokage thought about the plan, then said, "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I'll discuss this with the Uchiha clan and what they think. After all, they are the ones who will be the victims."

"By the way… Could you label Itachi-san as an S-ranked missing-nin? I know it sounds fishy, but in a few years time, there will be a group called the 'Akatsuki' in which their purpose is to take demon containers and use them for their own sake. Since Itachi-san joined last time, I thought maybe you could use him as a spy," suggested Naruto.

**"I'm surprised at how much smarter you became. From what I remembered, at this age you didn't even know how to count to ten."** Kyuubi remarked.

_'Kyuubi-sensei, you're really getting on my nerves. Any particular reason you're picking on me today?' _

**"Not really. It's just funny pissing you off. And since you can't block me out, I can do this as much as I want! Yay me!" **here the 'Ever powerful and dignified Kyuubi' waved little flags and danced around in chibi fox mode.(5) Trying to block the thoughts out (in vain) Naruto then asked, "Hokage-jiisan, since I've said what I wanted, can I leave? Oh, and can I see the ANBU's profile for just one minute? I swear I won't do anything… that might scar him for life…" he mumbled the last bit out of hearing range.

"Yes, yes, I'll give you his profile. But only for one minute, this is something I am not supposed to do." He handed the Kyuubi vessel the profile of the ANBU member. Making sure that his tenant was able to memorize the sheet, Naruto handed it back. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I shall consider your tactics well. Oh, and before I forget, Iruka-san wishes to speak to you tomorrow. It was something along the lines of, 'When I get my hands on him' or something… But I'm sure he was just joking."

For the second time on the same day, Naruto grew pale and gulped miserably.

_'I am so screwed tomorrow…'_

* * *

The next day, it was all over the village that some members of the Uchiha clan were massacred by none other than the prodigy, Itachi. Only a select few knew the whole truth, them being what was left of the clan. Only they knew that it was in fact Orochimaru who killed the family, but was chased out by the combined efforts of Itachi and the Sandaime. The others thought that the murderer was Itachi, who was spotted leaving the village around ten minutes after the news had spread. 

The snake sannin wasn't aware of the fact that they knew he was the culprit, as it was such a well kept secret that even Kabuto, his spy, could not find.

Meanwhile, Naruto sadly walked towards the Academy earlier than usual, terrified of his fate, when he spotted a raven-haired boy sitting alone. The once happy child became more stoic and heartless, seeking revenge to Orochimaru for killing some of his family and trying to frame his brother. Deciding that the new human ice cube should lighten up, Naruto quietly sneaked up behind him and did a few hand seals.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu(6)," he whispered. A tiny water dragon, about the size of a grown man's arm appeared and drenched the Uchiha survivor from head to toe. Indignant, Sasuke turned angrily to face Naruto.

"What the hell was that for!"

"Uh... to cheer you up?" This seemed to be the wrong answer, for his future rival began to look extremely aggravated. "Come on Sasuke, being all heartless and masking your hate for Orochimaru isn't going to help! I want revenge for him as well, and yet I'm still trying to live a normal life. He's the exact reason why I'm an orphan... and why everyone hates me..." he said, getting quieter and quieter until he spoke the last part in a whisper.

The fact that Naruto knew about the snake sannin seemed to calm Sasuke down immensely and adopt a look of pity when he was informed about Naruto's orphanage. "I'm sorry to hear that. Thanks for talking to me about it, though. You're the only one who actually treated me as a person. The villagers all treat me either as if I'm going to be a murderer as well or if I was something to be pitied and treat me like royalty. And then there's my fan club." At this he shuddered violently, "Rabid fangirls are a force to be reckoned with, I assure you."

"No problem. By the way... Since we both want revenge, let's both destroy Orochimaru together when we have the chance! After all, he's probably too strong to be defeated alone. What do you say? Friends?" asked the fox vessel, holding out his hand.

The Uchiha survivor smiled. Not one of his arrogant smirks, but a true smile which was a very rare sight to see. He shook the other boy's hand. "No; best friends. But I'm going to damage the idiot more than you will, dobe!" he added jokingly.

"Are not, teme!"

"Am too, times infinity." Here the raven-haired boy stuck his tongue out at Naruto.

"Why you-"

Just then the bell rang, indicating that the classes were about to begin. Naruto grew pale. Iruka-sensei was going to kill him for ditching the 'Extra class' yesterday.

"Help..."

* * *

...And now for an extra belated Christmas gift for you wonderful readers! 

**Omake:**

It was a cold Christmas day, and the ANBU ninja who was supposed to escort the 'Demon child' felt some very bad karma (Even though he never practiced Buddhism) as he hurried to his house. Somehow, he had a very ominous feeling, as if something very bad was going to happen.

As he stepped into his house, he was greeted by a barrage of kunais and shuriken. Dodging them with reflexes honed by years of experience, the ANBU member (Let's call him... 'Atori' for now, 'kay?) managed to slip on some gooey stuff planted by someone (A/N: If you don't know who did that,Come _on!_ It's so obvious!). Realizing that this was another trap, Atori(7) used his chakra to steady himself... then was covered in a white powdery-like substance from above. It seemed that the culprit was already one step ahead of him.

Muttering angrily, Atori wiped his eyes from the powder, then started to become very itchy. Itching powder! Frantically he began to run towards his bathroom to wash the horrid stuff off when he noticed that the bathroom had an exploding tag on it. He also noticed that the tag was smoking, which is not a very good sign to see.

"Kuso..."

The result was an explosion that managed to destroy the bathroom door and send Atori hurtling back to the entrance of his house. Hoping that the torture was over, he stood up shakily and had his wind knocked out of him by a log colliding with his chest. He had managed to tip off hidden tripwires everywhere, as suddenly the house seemed to turn to life. Chairs crashed about, Doors were attacking him, and as for his futon? Forget about it.

Finally, when Atori thought it was safe to move, he set off yet another series of traps that lasted for hours. Tired, ragged, and to the point of unconsciousness, he was sent a kunai with a note attached next to him. Using the last of his strength, the ANBU read the note which said:

"Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!" A smiley face (8) was on the note. The man, unable to stay awake, fainted.

Meanwhile, in a small apartment, a certain fox vessel laughed quietly as he heard the explosions which could be heard throughout the village.

_'I told you I'd get my revenge...'

* * *

_(1) **Genjutsu:** Illusionary techniques

(2) **Jujin Bunshin no jutsu:** Beast-human clone technique. In coordination with an animal, the user creates a perfect likeness of that creature, and vice-versa with the beast assuming the form of the person.

(3) **Kage Bunshin no jutsu:** Shadow clone technique. Naruto's signature move which creates real bodies instead of regular Bunshins.

(4)** Henge no jutsu:** Transformation technique. Changes the user's appearance.

(5) ...What? I like the idea of a chibi fox. If you don't like it though, let me know.

(6) **Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu:** Water Element: Water dragon technique. Forms a kind of water dragon. It can be created without being near a body of water, but only high leveled ninjas can do it.

(7) **Atori:** I think it means Bird or something. I just thought it was appropriate.

(8) It's one of those "Have a nice day" ones. I just love those things.

Thank you, to all the readers, and I hope that this isn't going to be the last chapter I write. Please review my humble little fic if you wish! Ja ne!


	5. The genin exam!

Yo!

I've kinda had a writer's block and that tiny little voice in your head that tells you to stop doing this, it's pointless, and all that crap, so sorry to all my (if I have any) 'fans' who might be angry at me.

...But enough of that, I need to update this fic before I head north for a little holiday for a few weeks. 9 hours of non-stop road trip. Hooray.

And now for the reviewers corner!

**demon-slayer:** That's a great idea! ... Until I remember that I suck at writing action. I'll try it, but don't get your hopes up.

**conlan0414863:** ... It's not exactly necessary for me to email now, is it? I will continue the fic whenever I can.

Before I start, I'll just say that this is a timeskip of six years, which makes Naruto twelve... I hope. He's twelve years old, alright? Also, I'm hoping that this chapter will be longer. (Note the hope part. I really have no idea where I'm going with this...)

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Naruto, but I do own a Sasuke wallet, an Itachi Keyring and a Kakashi cellphone accesory. Which compensates a little, I guess. :3

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"Ohayo(1), Naruto-kun!"

The boy in question turned to see a bluish-black haired girl heading towards him as he entered the Academy. He smiled.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan. Where's Sasuke-teme?"

"Over here, dobe," the boy replied with a smirk.

The fox vessel had become good friends with her and Sasuke over the last six years, which seemed to make positive effects to both of them. Hinata became less shy around people and Sasuke had lightened up considerably in comparison to the old Sasuke before the time-travelling jutsu. Unfortuneately, this seemed to make his fangirls think that he was even more handsome than before, the exact reason why in the Academy, he sat at the end of the bench with Naruto and Hinata sitting next to him, like a human shield.

It was the third year the students failed, but today was going to be different, Naruto knew. Sasuke was still the rookie of the year and Hinata was average. In short, Naruto had to be the dead last so that the three had a good chance to be in a group, which wasn't very difficult to do.

Suddenly. the three heard screaming and loud footsteps approaching them very quickly, which revealed to be Sakura and Ino.

"HA! I CAME FIRST, INO-PIG! I GET TO SIT NEXT TO SASUKE-KUN!" Shouted Sakura, doing a victory dance.

"DREAM ON, FOREHEAD GIRL! MY TOE CAME FIRST SO I GET TO SIT NEXT TO SASUKE-KUN!" Shot back Ino. It was at this point that they saw Naruto and Hinata sitting next to their precious 'Sasuke-kun'. Wailing in agony, the two slowly sat somewhere else.

Pretty soon, the class was filled with the other Academy students eager to recieve their forehead protectors as sign that they were growing up. Finally, the two chuunin Iruka and his assistant Mizuki entered the room. Naruto had to suppress a slight growl as he saw the sinister white-haired man walk inside. He knew what he had to do, and he knew that he was going to hate it.

"Alright, class, today is the day of the exams, where you all have a chance to become full-fledged ninjas. You are to do the Shuriken, Bunshin and the Henge test to pass," said Iruka. "First off, it's Haruno Sakura's turn."

The list went on, until finally-

"Uzumaki Naruto! You're up."

Gulping silently, Naruto walked up to the platform and performed his shuriken test first. He made his first mistake to his plans by throwing them with deadly accuracy, much to his chagrin and the awe of all students in the room. He needed to fail, not become the rookie of the year! Gritting his teeth, he steeled his resolve (and his dignity) and began to do everything in his power to be the deadlast and fail.

When asked to do a henge of Iruka, he decided to have a bit of fun and exploit the fact that he was isolated from his friends and classmates. Doing the seal of the ram, he concentrated his chakra and transformed.

"Henge!" The result was a naked beautiful blonde girl which left poor Iruka with a large nosebleed and a laughing Naruto. "Hahah! I call it the Orioke no jutsu, my ultimate technique! No one can defeat it!"

"YOU DUMBASS! DON'T INVENT STUPID SKILLS!" Screamed the instructor. After a few minutes of him cooling down, he then said, "Now, for the Bunshin test. You are to make three perfect bunshins in front of Mizuki-sensei and I." _'I've seen Naruto do the Bunshin no jutsu perfectly,' _thought Iruka. _'There is no way he could fail this!'_

How very wrong he was.

Instead of three perfect bunshins, as expected of the exam, he ended up with only one clone... which looked dead. In fact, it looked so grotesque and hideous that Iruka felt... no, _knew_ the blond did it on purpose.

Sighing irritably, the chuunin instructor said, "I'm sorry Naruto. You failed. I really don't know how you managed to do it, but..."

"Iruka-sensei, this is his third time, and technically he made a clone... We could let him pass," interrupted Mizuki. Naruto restrained himself to attack the traitor and look hopefully towards Iruka instead.

"I'm afraid not, Mizuki-sensei," the other replied with a heavy heart, "The other students have managed three. Naruto's one would only get in the way. I'm sorry, but I cannot let him pass."

The two chuunins watched as Naruto silently walked out, noticing that his shoulders shook in anger. In actual reality, the boy was trying his best not to laugh out loud.

An hour later, outside of the Academy, sounds of cheerful children and happy parents were everywhere, all proud of their sons and/or daughters passing and recieving their hi-ate. Hardly anyone of them noticed the depressed looking boy who didn't pass. Only Sasuke and Hinata seemed to care enough to sympathize with the demon vessel, but their parents(2) attempted to discourage the two comforting him, as if... _'it' _was a deadly illness. 

Kyuubi had taught Naruto well in the ways of acting. Inwardly the host smirked as he knew it was going all according to plan.

_'The bastard_ _should be here in 5... 4... 3... 2...'_

"Naruto... Don't blame Iruka-sensei. He probably sees himself in you and a want you to become stronger. Try to understand his feelings since you also both don't have any parents," said a soft, gentle voice. Naruto looked up to see Mizuki staring at him sadly. The irony of what he just said sickened him to the degree that he restrained himself to say anything.

"Demo..." Here the traitor smiled, "I can tell you a special secret to get you to graduate."

Acting excited, Naruto nodded and pretended to listen to Mizuki's plan. After all, he already heard this before anyway.

* * *

Half a day later, in the dense forests of Konoha, Naruto as he tried his best to look like he was as beat up as possible. He knew that he had to look believable to the traitor that he actually did _something_ after stealing the scroll. 

"Hey.. I guess I've finally found you..."

Naruto turned his head to stare at an angry Iruka. "Heh, I guess you found me... And to think I only learnt one jutsu as well... Ne, so will you pass me if I show you it?"

The chuunin blinked. "Nani?"

"Mizuki-sensei told me that if I learnt one technique, then I'd pass the exam! He told me about this place and this scroll as well. So am I a genin now or what?"

The revelation of those words struck Iruka quite quickly and he immediately knew what was going on. He then pushed Naruto out of the way to be barraged by an array of kunai. The perpetrator revealed himself to be none other than Mizuki himself.

"Nice job of tracking him, Iruka. Naruto, hand over the scroll," he said with a smirk.

"Naruto! Get out of here, quick! That scroll has dangerous kinjutsu in it! Mizuki used you to get his hands on it!"

"Wh-what's going on? I don't get it," said Naruto, confused.

"I suppose I should tell you the truth." The traitor paused, then continued, despite the shouts of dismay by Iruka, "Twelve years ago, you remember the tale of the Kyuubi attacking the village? He wasn't killed. He was sealed into a child. You, brat, are the nine-tailed fox."

The two men were at least expecting Naruto to even show a hint of shock or anger. Instead the fox vessel laughed, much to their surprise. He laughed long and loud, then calmed down enough to say, "Have you been thinking up of this explanation for the whole day or something? Are you thick enough to believe that Kyuubi and I are the same?" He stopped laughing, his tone became more serious. "You, my friend, are pathetic."

Putting his hands into a seal, he shouted, "Taijuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Thousands of Narutos then appeared out of nowhere, then proceeded to beat the living daylights out of a shocked Mizuki. Panting slightly, he asked, "Iruka-sensei, have I passed the exam now?"

Iruka shook off his initial surprise and smiled, "Come over here and close your eyes. I want to give something to you." Taking off his hi-ate, he put it on Naruto. "Alright, now open them. Congratulations, Naruto. You pass."

Becoming very teary-eyed, Naruto hugged his teacher as hard as he could. The Third Hokage, watching the scene from his crystal ball, wiped his eyes and told his ninja to stop pursuing the missing Naruto and scroll.

No one noticed a different scroll marked 'Read later' hidden in the hole of a tree.

* * *

... Sorry that this chapter took so long. I know it sucks to boot, but I needed to get that out of the way. 

I updated the last little blurb since people asked me about the scroll. Don't ask me what's written in it, I'll reveal it sooner or later. Besides, it's pretty obvious, isn't it?

By the way, I'm going to make a small survey and leave it for a week or two. The question is... Who should be in Team 7? I'm planning to have Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi in the mix, but who should it be...?

I'll leave the choices as:

-Hinata  
-Sakura  
-Other (Please state who)

Thanks a lot, see you all 'til I update!

P.S: I suck at making brilliant pranks, so if anyone has any ideas how I can tortu... _prank_ them, feel free to email me/pm me. Any is fine.


	6. Meeting the new Team 7

Another week (Or so), another chapter. Woo! I am on a roll! Let's all hope that I won't make a disaster of it as I did on the previous chapter!

Also, I hate this 'Document' editing thing. I had to retype my fic twice because I was stupid enough to not save this on MW.

As for the results of Hinata/Sakura/Other:

**Hinata: **13

**Sakura: **2

**Other: **1 (Kinda anyway.)

So the position of third member in Team 7 is Hinata. Just to let you know, I'm trying not to bash any character (Maybe not Orochimaru, though. He's creepy and he acts like a pedophile. I don't have anything against pedophiles, but it's just... scary. o.O), so, sorry to Sakura/Everyone-else-except-Orochimaru-and-other-evil-people-but-not-Itachi-'cause-he's-cool-haters, this isn't the fic for you.

Reviewer's Corner!

**Ashaton Chaos:** I don't think that the eye bloodline is _that_ necessary. Kickass and awesome, but not necessary. After all, Kyuubi's been living for thousands of years and he can teach Naruto whatever jutsu comes at him (That's the excuse my brain is telling me). Also, it kinda sounds like a rip-off of a Sharingan.

**Digi fan:** No thanks, the teams will be the same other than team 7 and 8. The Ino-shika-chou trio, I feel, should stick together.

**Alucard29:** Naru/Anko doesn't really sound like a realistic pairing to me. According to the official data book, Anko is 24. Naruto is half that age. I really can't see the connection/chemistry here, minus the fact that Anko's as hyperactive (As well as crazy) as Naruto. Thanks for the vote, but I think I'll stick to Hinata. Sorry 'bout that and to those who wanted the pairing.

**Night-Owl123:** Don't worry, I have no intention of giving up on my fic anytime soon. Though it could be months 'til my next update. I don't know, nor do I really care. I'm just a lazy bastard. -.-

**Silver-White-Tiger:** That's a great idea for a prank. Now, to find the victim... And how to put them in that situation...

Thank you so much for your support as well! So far I have recieved no blatantly obvious flames, so that is a good sign, I guess. This chapter will, of course, involve the newly-formed Team 7. Enjoy the chapter, leave a tip, and come again! (That was really lame.)

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Naruto, and thank goodness that I don't. I would have messed it up AGES ago.

Note: I have to give credit where credit is due. Thanks **gclp** for your prank ideas. I really appreciated it.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

**Kakashi's POV**

The alarm rings as I open my bleary eye to another morning. Wearily, I take a well-placed kunai and throw it, destroying my alarm clock and allowing me to go back to my well deserved rest. The mission I had last night was very taxing and damned if I was going to let some hunk of metal disturb me.

This continued until noon, when I realized that I was late for my daily visit to the memorial stone. Which, I suppose, isn't much of a surprise to others, knowing me well enough to know that I'm late for anything these days. Except for my one true love.

The Icha Icha series.

A gift from the great Kami-sama Himself. A masterpiece of literature. Picking up my precious book, I carefully put it in one of the many pockets in my jounin vest. One of the perks of being one, I guess. I spared a glance at a photo that sits on my bedside table and left my apartment.

The photo of the old Team 7(1). Arashi-sensei, Obito, Rin and I.

Obito died in the war between the Stone and Leaf, Rin deemed "Missing in Action" in a mission two years ago.(2) I lost hope in searching for her. She should have at least contacted the leaf by now.

Arashi-sensei... Killed sealing his summon into a baby boy. Not that I blame the poor kid for killing my sensei. He's been in enough crap for me to join in. It's a wonder that he endured those glares for this long. I think his name was Uzumaki something... I've never met the kid personally, nor had I had the pleasure of meeting his parents, which I assume were killed in the Kyuubi incident.(3)

Blinking out of my thoughts for a moment, I notice that I've arrived at the stone. I paid my respects to my comrades and loved ones. May they all rest in peace.

I then remembered that today was the day I was going to meet the new potential Team 7. I also remembered that I am officially four hours late. Kuso(4), Sandaime-sama is going to chew my ears off for this one...

I arrived at the academy eventually. According to my watch, it says that I am exactly four hours, thirty minutes and fifty-seven seconds late. It's a new record; I usually arrive a lot later than that.

Suddenly, my trap instincts went haywire. It looks like one of my brats are trying to take revenge for my lateness. I decided to let them humor me and fall for the trap. After all, how bad could it be?

Entering the room, I was immediately welcomed by a splash of liquid on my head. Looking at it closely, I can see that it is pink paint. A quick check on my vest, my book is in good condition. I can already tell that I was _very_ well-liked by my team. I was going to say something, but I was interupted by a multitude of kunai and shuriken. I dodged it easily, and was about to tell the little brats that I wasn't a tokubetsu(5) jounin for nothing until I see that the weapons weren't aiming for me. Instead the kunai and shuriken activated a couple of tags. Which were sizzling.

Crap.

In short, I was pelted halfway across the hallway by the resulting explosion, crashing into another bucket of blue paint. This is _really_ turning to be a good day for me. Steeling my nerve, I decided to enter the room one more time. Hopefully I set off all of the traps.

Famous last words.

Next, I started to lose my balance and I collapsed into a pile of dog crap. Kami-sama, what have I done to deserve this!

Incidentally, I found that my flak jacket has caught on fire. I don't know how, nor do I actually want to. I quickly use a Suiton(5) jutsu and make a damage report. my scrolls and equipment were fine, but then I noticed something horrible.

My Icha-Icha Paradise, Special Edition, which costs a lot more than the normal one, was burned. Blue, pink and furious, I surveyed my soon-to-be-sent-back-to-the-Academy students.

The first one had raven-black, spiky hair. His mouth was set in a smirk at my predicament. He wore a blue t-shirt, shorts, arm-warmers and shinobi-standard sandals. I assume that this would be Uchiha Sasuke, the Rookie-of-the-year. A right pain in the neck, I'll bet.

The second was a very shy, timid girl. Her most notable feature was her eyes, which were lavender and had absolutely no pupils at all. A Hyuuga, no less. She seemed to be trying to hide her smile, but was failing badly. I take it that this would be Hyuuga Hinata, the heiress to the clan.

The last kid was an enigma. He had bright blond hair, blue eyes, and what appeared to be whisker-like scars. He wore a black t-shirt and black pants, where I knew he would be able to camouflage quite easily in missions. Over it he wore a vest, which I could tell was weighted quite a lot. This one was rolling on the floor laughing. Watching him with a raised eyebrow, I said what I normally said to my promising students.

"Hm... Well, my first impression is... That I really don't like you guys."

* * *

**General POV**

A few minutes later after the jounin was able to clean up a little, the four headed to the roof. Kakashi, still slighty pink and blue, said, "Let's begin with some introductions. Likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies... Stuff like that."

"Ano... Why don't you introduce yourself first, sensei?" asked Hinata.

"Let's see now... My name's Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire whatsoever to tell you guys my likes and dislikes. As for dreams for the future... Well, I do have a lot of hobbies..." He trailed off, looking to the sky as if it was the most interesting thing in the world, carefully ignoring his students' ruffled expressions. He then pointed to the girl of the group. "You're next."

"My name's Hyuuga Hinata... I like my friends and..." She trailed off, spacing out for a few seconds. "I don't have a lot to dislike. My dream is to be acknowledged by my father and my hobbies include pressing flowers.(6)"

_'A slightly unconfident, love-struck girl. She'll be most likely trained with Chakra control, which I'll consider a small bonus,' _evaluated the jounin. "Next."

"The name's Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things I don't like, but I do like my friends. As for the dream... I'd like to call it an ambition. To resurrect my clan and kill a certain man."

_'As I thought. Looks like he still wants revenge on his brother._(7) "Lastly, the blondie."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, training and my friends. I dislike people hurting my precious people, nor do I like people putting others down. My dream is to become Hokage and surpass the previous ones. Hobbies... I suppose I like dabbling a little on pranks..." he smirked evilly at this remark, causing an involuntary shudder to villagers and ninja alike.

_'So we have on our team an avenger, an unconfident heiress and a dead-last troublemaker. This is going to be interesting...'_ "Okay! Introductions aside, we're going to do a little survival training tomorrow. Meet me on the training grounds at 6. Don't bother eating breakfast, you'll throw up." The tokubetsu jounin gave a small victory sign and disappeared. Immediately after he left, the Naruto spoke up. "Screw what Kakashi-sensei said, I'm eating breakfast tomorrow. You guys should, too."

"Why? Kakashi-sensei just told us _not_ to eat anything. He said that we'll throw up," said Sasuke. Although, the fact that he told them not to eat was suspicious enough...

"I seriously doubt that he'll monitor us 24/7. Besides, after seeing how late he was showing up today, my guess is that he'll pop up at around nine."

"Demo... why is he so intent on the breakfast and the early issue? If we'll be awake at that state, we'd be a lot more weaker..." asked Hinata.

"What I'm guessing is that he did that on purpose to make us fail. Thinking about this, why is it that only around nine people graduate every year? My guess is that Kakashi-sensei is going to test us or something. In other words, a test of teamwork," concluded Naruto. Being a twenty year old in a twelve year old's body(8) did have a lot of upsides to it, and humiliating his father's prized student was good enough. "So, what do you say guys? You in?"

The two to-be genins smiled and nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you two tomorrow. Don't forget to eat breakfast and come at around 8."

* * *

... And the evil author cuts off from here. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 

.. No really, I'm serious. To be honest, I don't want to stop here either, but an update is better than none, right? I'll stop here, but I'll promise that the next one will be longer to make up for this short one. If I don't, may I be attacked by a horde of angry readers frustrated at my story!

Notes:

(1) **The old Team 7:** I'm not really sure if that's true, but I want to make this REALLY ironic. So, you're stuck with Kakashi's cell as Team 7. Have fun! Whee!

(2) **Rin's Situation:** A twist in my story! Who knows if that fact is important later? I know that I don't have a clue!

(3) Yes, Kakashi doesn't know about Naruto's heritage... Yet. Reasons are explained in either chapter one or two. I can't remember.

(4) **Kuso **- Basically means either 'Shit' or 'Damn'.

(5) **Tokubetsu** - Special

(6) I don't make most of the information up. Her hobbies really do include pressing flowers in the data book. I love Wikipedia for the information I get from it.

(7) If you remember, that's supposed to be a secret, remember? Only Naruto, the third Hokage and what remains of the Uchiha clan know that Orochimaru did it.

(8) Technically, he's right. He's **lived** for twenty years and I thought that Naruto should be smart as one. Besides, he's done the test before. Frankly, it's the most logical thing I wrote since I started this fic anyway.

Alright! For any other inquiries (Besides 'Make it longer' and/or 'Update faster'), review or pm me! (Preferably the former. I still don't know how I can read the damn things) Also, prank ideas are still open! Don't forget that I still have to torture poor Kakashi in the next chapter! Until then, Ja ne!

-teh crazy author-


	7. The evil photobook of DOOM!

I updated chapter 5 and added one small detail to it. To those who won't be bothered reading it, I'll just add it on to here:

"Iruka shook off his initial surprise and smiled, "Come over here and close your eyes. I want to give something to you." Taking off his hi-ate, he put it on Naruto. "Alright, now open them. Congratulations, Naruto. You pass."

Becoming very teary-eyed, Naruto hugged his teacher as hard as he could. The Third Hokage, watching the scene from his crystal ball, wiped his eyes and told his ninja to stop pursuing the missing Naruto and scroll.

No one noticed a different scroll marked 'Read later' hidden in the hole of a tree."

... And that's it. Seriously. I copied and pasted that. Now stop bugging me about the scroll, it will be mentioned soon enough. Thank you.

Reviewer's Corner!

**Alucard29:** I was actually intending to wait for the three-year break to really start the romance, which was why there were only hints of it in my previous chapters. But like I said, I've chosen the pairings at around chapter 2 (I should really change my summary...)

**Lepus Iratus** He did that intentionally, because first, the pressure Kakashi put on Hinata and Sasuke was pretty big. Usually when people have exams they get completely stressed out. Naruto said this to relieve some of it, but not so much as to create suspicion, or so he hopes. Second, the two are aware that Naruto is more intelligent than he lets on, but they don't really know _how intelligent he actually is._ He's never shown exactly how smart he was, as in the Academy he was the dead last. Shikamaru and his IQ is also a good example of this.

**Dragon Man 180:** Thanks for granting me permission. Actually, I'm starting to feel sorry for Kakashi...

**Dumbledork:** Skepticism is always afoot and can pay a hefty price. In this case, they paid with their lives. In Sasuke's flashback (Manga and anime) I just figured that some of the Uchiha clan members would be stuck-up and have a holier-than-thou attitude. Arrogance can also be a factor of being distrustful, which was why some of them didn't trust the Hokage (After all, who would believe that a S-ranked criminal, missing for years, would attack the clan in an X amount of time with no proof?). It takes all kinds to make a world, I guess.

A big thank you to you all for reading. Special thanks to:

Dragon Man 180

Lepus Iratus

Goyana

Kitty Girl

Dragon Noir

For your prank ideas. These will come in handy...

**Disclaimer:** Naruto equals not mine. I equal lazy unmotivated crazy otaku with nothing better to do.

* * *

**Chapter** **7**

Kakashi strolled through the team seven training grounds at around ten in the morning. He was delayed by a frantic Maito Gai asking him about a challenge (Something he ignored) and also if he had seen a photo album which, apparently 'Burned with the firey passion of youth' or something. Ranted a fair deal about what kind of thief would steal such a precious item as that.

It didn't really matter to him too much anyway. He assured the hyperventilating green spandex wearing jounin that he would return the book should he come across it.

Inwardly, Kakashi agreed with his colleague. What kind of fool would steal the photo album? Gai showed it to him once, and he couldn't sleep for a week. The horrible green spandex, the hideously shiny teeth, and... (Kakashi involuntarily shuddered) ... THE SUPER THICK EYEBROWS!(1)

All over the world, millions of fangirls screamed at the monstrosity that was... LEE AND GAI'S EYEBROWS! "Make it go away," they shriek, "Make it go AWAY!"

... Back to the story...

The jounin made one last check on his vest pocket for a familiar orange book. It took him all day yesterday, but he managed to find and buy the Special edition of Icha Icha Paradise. This time he was going to be prepared for whatever trap the little mons... 'Genin' were going to pull.

He cautiously approached the meeting area. So far, so good. No traps... yet. He kept walking until he found the three glaring angrily at him. "Ohayo!"

"You're late," said Naruto coldly. Decidedly ignoring the remark, Kakashi took out a clock. "This clock is set to twelve. Your task," he said, holding up a pair of bells, "Is to take these bells before the time limit. Get a bell, and you pass. Any questions?" Pointedly ignoring the questions such as, 'Why were you so damn late?' and 'What kind of teacher are you?', he said, "Alright, come at me with the intention to kill and start... NOW!"

The three disappeared in an instant. The jounin assessed their hiding skills.

_'Let's see... The Uchiha and the Hyuuga are pretty well hidden... But the Uzumaki...'_ he looked up and faced the blond. "Um... You're a bit off, don't you think?"

"Phft! The only thing off here is your haircut!" replied Naruto, charging him.

"Lesson one: Taijutsu," stated Kakashi calmly, taking out his book. Ignoring Naruto completely, he began to read.

In retaliation, Naruto started it off with a punch that was easily blocked. He followed it up quickly with a roundhouse kick which was yet again blocked.

What Kakashi never expected was that Naruto retreated with a series of backflips. Looking at his hands, he noticed that exploding tags were attached to them.He sighed. Not this again...

Boom.

Naruto crouched silently, knowing what was going to happen next. As expected...

"Konohagakure Hiden: Taijutsu no Ōgi: Sennen Goroshi!(2)" Behind him, the jounin plunged his fingers into Naruto's ass.

Another thing that Kakashi didn't expect was the Naruto to disappear in a puff of smoke, replaced by a nest of angry hornets. Dear Lord, he despised the child with the intensity of a thousand suns. He managed to kill most of them, but got stung with a surprisingly very itchy substance. How nice. The kid used genjutsu and managed to lace senbons(3) with itching powder.

Coincidentally, another paint bucket fell on his head. This time it was neon pink. Kami-sama, the villagers and the rest of his colleagues were going to have a field day with him today.

He looked ahead to see a pile of Icha-Icha books in flames. He knew this was genjutsu, but it looked too real for him to bear and he screamed in agony and was knocked out by a blow to the head.

* * *

Kakashi opened his eyes to see three faces looking curiously at him. He tried to move, then noticed that he couldn't move. Looking down, he found himself bound by very strong rope. 

"Sensei... Daijobu desu ka?(4)" asked Hinata.

"I'm alright. Let me guess... You stole the bells, right?"

"Duh. Why wouldn't we? That was the whole point of the traps we set up this morning waiting for you," said Naruto. The jounin's eye visibly widened.

"'We'?"

"Yeah. Sasuke got the senbons and the neon pink paint, which I think suits you well. Hinata handled the genjutsu, and I managed to be the distraction. Oh, and by the way, the paint won't come off 'til a couple of days. Don't even think of a henge to cover it up, it won't work."

Kakashi groaned. "So... Who took the bells?" He looked at the three with interest.

"We discussed it for a while.. and agreed on this. Either you pass us all or we fail. There's no freakin' way you're going to split us apart," said Sasuke. The two nodded an affirmative to that.

Nodding thoughtfully, the jounin grinned as visibly as the mask allowed. "Good. You three.. pass. Tomorrow, we start our missions as the new Team 7! Meet me at the bridge 7:30 sharp! Now, untie me and let's go. Guys?" he said, watching the three celebrate and leave the training area, ignoring the cries of the indignant teacher. "Lousy... evil little monsters..." he muttered under his breath. "Nawanuke no jutsu!(5)"

Freed from the ropes, Kakashi then quickly headed towards the jounin meeting area. He knew that he had to get this over and done with.

Yuuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma looked astounded at his condition. "What the hell happened to you?" Kakashi merely shrugged.

"Let's just say... I met the new Team seven today. What about you, Asuma? How'd they do?"

"The teamwork is good, though the girl, Ino, just bossed her two team mates around. Shikamaru... is just lazy. As for Chouji... he's an Akimichi, alright. Kurenai?"

"Let's see... The Haruno girl is intelligent, but has very little chakra capacity. The Inuzuka works well with his dog, but his arrogance will be his downfall eventually. Aburame... He's genin material, that's the only thing I can say. The teamwork leaves a lot to be desired," she finished. "So tell us, Kakashi-san. How _did_ you get to be like that?"

Kakashi sighed. All he wanted to do was read his book. He reluctantly told them what happened. The two were rolling on the ground laughing by the time he had finished. He took out his book and left the two, still laughing their heads off, and began to read.

Inside the book was a sight no one should see. In it were the familiar green spandex... the shining teeth... And.. THE EYEBROWS!

Kakashi's screams of agony echoed across the village, where many shook their heads in sympathy. It was _that _scream, the scream signifying that someone had looked at _the_ book.

* * *

"Where is Kakashi-sensei? He was supposed to be an hour ago," asked Hinata. 

"Don't worry, Hinata-chan. He should be here in five... four... three...-"

He was interrupted by a strange man who resembled their instructor, only the _real_ Kakashi wasn't purple, had white paint on his face, wore facepaint and had a big red nose. His hair was still the interesting shade of neon pink, though patches of gray showed. Hatake Kakashi, son of the great 'White Fang of Konoha', known and feared by many as the 'Copy ninja', looked like a clown. His look of irritation was lost on the three.

"I get the message, Naruto. I'm late, and something like this will happen to me, right?" said Kakashi in a sweet voice.

The fox vessel nodded happily. "I'm glad you can see it my way, Kakashi-sensei."

"... Fine. Let's go, we're late for the Hokage's mission."

* * *

"... That's _IT!_ I'm sick of the boring D-rank missions! We're ready for a C-rank one, Hokage-jii-san, and I'm not leaving here 'til we get one!" 

"Naruto! We assign you these D-rank missions because you aren't ready for them! When you become a lot stronger..." Iruka was cut short by the Hokage himself.

"Fine. Your mission will be to protect a client to the Wave Country. His name is Tazuna and please treat him with utmost respect."

"Nani!"

"I am the Super Bridge Builder Tazuna, and I... The hell? I'm stuck with these brats to protect me? That little blond shrimp looks like a total idiot!"

"Kakashi-sensei?" The jounin watched the unusually polite boy fingering a kunai dangerously. Not a good sign.

"Yes, Naruto?"

"May I please kill or mutilate him?" the rest inside the Hokage's office sweat-dropped at the exchange between student and teacher.

"No. Now get ready and meet at the Konoha gates in an hour. Dismissed."

* * *

Finishing off here... And we are now officially in the Wave Country arc! Finally, some action in the next chapter! 

(1) **The eyebrows -** I have a small phobia of those things. But basically for comic relief. Ph34R t3h 3Y3Br0ws! Rawr!

(2) **Konohagakure Hiden: Taijutsu no Ōgi: Sennen Goroshi - **Konoha's Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique: A Thousand Years of Pain. Man, I love that technique.

(3) **Senbon -** Acupuncture Needles. Specifically, the needles Haku uses frequently.

(4) **Daijobu desu ka? -** "Are you alright?" Thank goodness for the English ->Japanese dictionary in the internet.

(5) **Nawanuke no Jutsu** - Rope Escape Technique. A basic jutsu taught at the Ninja academy. When a ninja is tied with rope, he can undo the knots and escape using this technique.

The updates will become slightly more sporadic, as my summer break is over and I have to go back to my high school. Sorry folks.

Thanks for reading, and please review!


	8. The journey to the Wave Country!

... I'm running out of 'witty' (if that's what you want to call it) little blurbs to say I usually do to begin a new chapter.

... Eh. No one even reads these little things anyway. Might as well get on with this fic... Bleh. Sorry it was later than the others; I was busy with schoolwork and stuff...

P.S: I HATE athletics day. Period.

Reviewer's Corner!

**demon-sword**: Don't worry, I'll put some original stuff in here as well... Including in the Wave Arc... Who knows, maybe something different will happen.

**Arc-Angel-Of-Fire**: ...No idea what a beta does! I'm still a newbie when it comes to these things... T-T

Blah, blah, blabbity blah. Let's just get on with the story.

**Disclaimer: **Yeah, yeah, I get the drill.. Naruto's not mine, and insert funny and or witty comment. Geez.

* * *

**Chapter 8  
**  
An hour later, the Team 7 were all present outside the gate plus the bridge builder, who edged away very slowly, away from the insane blond who threatened to kill him. 

Even Kakashi came on time.

... And then the apocalypse occured; Hell froze over, then Kyuubi suddenly ripped out of Naruto, declared himself as a she, married Sasuke and left together into the sunset, riding a flying magical pony. (1)

Just kidding.

The jounin regarded them all with a careful eye, especially watching Naruto's movements. No notable things... though he had a something large inside the backpack. Most likely a scroll or something. Didn't look too important. The party of five left off into the direction of the Wave Country. The journey was uninterrupted, save for two things.

One: Two puddles were in the middle of the road. When it hadn't rained for about a week. With looks of disbelief on the three genin's faces at the water, they decided to make the two nukenin paranoid by dropping very obvious hints.

"Man guys, is it a _hot_ day today! Just like about a week ago! If any puddles of water would be around, that would be _very_ suspicious, right Sasuke?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, right. Oh look! Some puddles of water! I'd _hate_ it if it was a missing-nin! _Especially_ if they're trying to ambush us!"

"Remember the last time a couple of ninja tried to ambush us? They couldn't sit down for a month! The prank we pulled on them was absolutely hilarious!" said Hinata. The three smirked evilly at the thought, causing the bridge builder to shy away from the genin's killing intent rolling off them.

"Are your suborbinates always like this, Kakashi-san?" he asked nervously.

"Unfortunately, yes," sighed Kakashi, "But this is actually quite mild compared to what they did in the village. They do much worse than th-."

The jounin was interrupted by chains ripping through his body. The two knew that they were detected, so screw the element of surprise.

"One down... Three to-"

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" (2)

The happiness of the two ninja were short lived, as they were both half-dead by two large balls of flames. The finishing blow was dealt with some well-placed Juken attacks which rendered the two unconscious.

"The two Demon Brothers... Supposedly chuunin-rank... Tazuna-san, you're hiding something, aren't you?" The voice made the said person jump and almost give him a heart attack. Nervously, he stammered out his country's state, wealth, Gatou and why he needed to build the bridge.

"Yare yare... Well, it's up to those three to decided to continue the mission or not. This is bordering along an B-rank mission, possibly even an A. It's their choice," Kakashi finished, looking directly at the three who rolled their eyes as an answer. Honestly, why bother asking if he already knows what they would say? Naruto expressed this feeling onto Kakashi verbally.

"Of course we'll do the mission! What, do you actually believe we'll give up on it just because these two losers," (Kicking the two nukenin, who both cried out in pain and glared indignantly) "Tried their pathetic excuse of an ambush on us? I've seen academy students do better!" Hinata and Sasuke nodded to this statement.

To say that Tazuna the bridge builder was happy was an understatement. "Thank you all so much.. And I'm sorry for calling you short earlier. You're not going to make some sort of revenge... Are you?"

"Why, _of course_ not! I mean, it's _our_ mission to protect you, right? I wouldn't even _dream_ of hurt you in the mission," replied Naruto, giving a fox-like mischievious grin. Something about that grin unnerved the old man even further and gave him a mental reminder to tell his grandchild never to insult the Team Seven's genin. Especially the blond one.

* * *

(A/N: ... And now, for something that's _not_ canon! Shock! Horror!) 

The second interruption occured when a multitude of kunai headed towards our heroes.

"Move out of the way, Now!" shouted Kakashi urgently towards his team. (A/N: Gee... he's quick on the uptake, isn't he?) Of course, the five managed to dodge the assault of projectiles easily. "Protect the bridge builder, I'll take the ninja!" The carefree atmosphere shattered, the three moved Tazuna to a safer area to watch the battle unfolding.

Sniffing out his enemy, Kakashi cut his hand with a kunai. Letting the blood flow freely, he formed several seals.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Instantly a nin-dog appeared. "Pakkun, please find the enemy."

"Hai..." The dog instantly froze when he managed to identify the scent. "Kakashi... This isn't an enemy. We know this person, and _she_ was considered dead two years ago." The jounin's eye widened as he blocked an incoming kick.

"Nani? Then that means..." He looked up abruptly to see the said attacker.

"It can't be... Rin?(3)" The kunoichi stared at him with cold, yet blank eyes.

"No. I am only known as Meian(4). I was hired to destroy the bridge builder. Now, hand him over, and no one will be harmed," she replied, eyeing the five cautiously.

Kakashi was not one to be wavered by this. He gave the mysterious 'Meian' a quick once over.

By all appearances, it looked like Rin, though she sported more scars than Kakashi last remembered. Her hair was a light brown, her trademark rectangular red marks was still on her face, and her dark colored eyes were colder than when he last saw her two years ago. All in all, this was definitely the Rin from the old Team 7, or the ninja was in a henge. Also, Kakashi didn't detect any signs of a genjutsu.

"Tell me... Meian, was it? I take it you were found by someone two years ago, right?"

"What the.. How the hell did you know that? You're not some sort of sick perverted stalker or something, are you?" The others sweat-dropped at the kunoichi's sudden mood swing.

_'Kyuubi?' _said Naruto to his furry tenant. In his mind he could see an angry chibi fox sleepily glaring at him.

**"What is it! Can't you see that I was taking a freakin' nap? What is it that you had to wake me up for? It better be good, or I swear your training is going to be a lot more torturing than what we're doing now."**

_'Well, I actually have two questions for you. First, are you a female or male? It's like you've got PMS with your moodswings or something.' _(5)

**"Kit... If that was supposed to be important... I swear I will destroy you and make it look like an accident."** The statement managed to produce a small squeak from Naruto, where in reality his two teammates looked at him oddly.

_'Just kidding! Geez, it's like you really do have PMS...' _The growls that steadily grew louder stopped Naruto's trainwreck of a thought. _'Anyway, who's this woman, and why is Kakashi-sensei acting like he knows her?'_

**"What! Let me have a look at her..." **The blond complied, earning a miniscule gasp from the kitsune.** "...Rin? I thought she was dead... I haven't met her in years... Kit; summon me. NOW."**

_'What? But what about Sasuke and Hinata-chan? Does this mean I'll have to tell them about us?'_

**"Kit. This is urgent. The girl has seemed to have recieved amnesia. If something happens to her... FINE! Just summon a fox. I'll just have to make do with being in that form."**

_'Fine.'_ Naruto snapped out of his conversation to come face to face with his curious friends. Ignoring them for a second, he bit his thumb hard enough to make it bleed and formed the exact same seals as Kakashi. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Smoke billowed forth, and evil cackling could be heard. The figure stepped out of the smoke to reveal...

A tiny chibi fox, exactly the same form Kyuubi took around four or five chapters ago, save the multiple tails and little fans he danced around with.(6) The little kit glared at the grinning blond for a moment, then quietly padded towards the two adults who looked ready for a fight. Ignoring the shocked expressions from both parties, he raised a tiny paw at 'Meian' lazily, one eye half-closed, mimicking Kakashi. "Yo."

The reaction was immediate.

"OH MY GOD! IT'S SO CUTE!" For the second time that day, the five sweat-dropped. Cold demeanor broken completely, she hugged the tiny fox as if it was a soft toy.

"She's... Crushing... Spine... Help me..."

"Yup, that's definitly Rin. Exactly the same reaction she made when Arashi-sensei summoned one of those things," confirmed Kakashi. Not looking away from the scene, he added, "Oh, and you're going to explain this to us when we get to Tazuna's house, Naruto."

The genin cursed his bad luck.

_'Kuso...'

* * *

_"Zabuza-sama, Meian-san has failed her mission to assassinate the bridge builder. What should we do?" whispered a small figure to a tall one wielding a giant sword, watching the scene unfold.

"We'll observe their movements for now, Haku. Good work. I think we should wait for about a week longer. Let them nearly complete the bridge, then we'll kill them. The blond one intrigues me..."

"Hai, Zabuza-sama." With that the two disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

* * *

Translator notes: 

(1) ... This was a product of when I was tired, half-asleep, and just plain braindead. It's only meant to be for comic relief; don't worry to Sasu/Saku fans, Sasuke is not going to really marry my lil' Kyu-chan. :D

(2) **Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu - Fire element: Great fireball attack.** In which the user spews forth fire in the shape of... a great fireball. (Insert bad joke punchline drum noise here.)

(3) **Rin -** Kakashi's old teammate. She was the one who surgically attatched Obito's sharingan eye to Kakashi.

(4) **Meian -** Japanese for 'Light and Darkness'. I just thought it was slightly appropriate.

(5) **PMS -** Before someone gets angry and flames me, for the record: I'm female. I've had this feeling already, so I'm just writing from (Partly) experience. And no, I'm not going to tell you what this is for anyone who doesn't know. Look it up from a dictionary.

(6) It's in Chapter 3, if anyone's interested.

Whew. That's chapter 7 done, and I have reached my goal of at least 100 reviews. I can't thank you guys enough to those who reviewed, I actually was considering stopping this fic had it not been for your support. If you haven't posted a review yet, post one! I accept constructive criticisms but flames (without valid reason) are not. Reviews spark up my motivation to write these things, as I originally planned to only do two chapters or so as a little test run.

I'm really a lazy sort of person, so it's actually quite rare for me to do this so willingly, but I'm babbling yet again.

'Til next time, folks!


	9. Reintroducing Rin and the Explanation

Hey, I'm back! And... OH MY GOD, I FORGOT TO UPDATE!

After my infamous luck of bad weather every time I go to a vacation/camp somewhere, I've experienced bad weather, wet tents and, quite possibly, even hail. So I apologise for my very later-than-usual update.

In other words, if I announce that I willingly went to a camping trip, you'll know that I have completely lost it.

P.S: This chapter is a lot shorter than I originally planned it to be, but my ideas have shut down on me (Hey look! That rhymes!). Also, I feel really guilty for not updating sooner. The next chapter _should_ come a lot earlier than the hiatus I was in. I react to bribes and/or death threats well for incentives.

Reviewer's Corner!

**demon-sword**: I meant that Kakashi knew that the Yondaime was able to summon toads _and_ foxes; he just doesn't know who the boss of the fox summons were (Which of course, was Kyuubi). As for Rin... She just likes cute and fluffy things. At the moment, Kyuubi's gender is a mystery. That little Apocalypse thing I did was just a joke, and should not be taken seriously. Ever.

**Dumbledork**: I don't think I'm going to kill her. She might be helpful as a medic-nin later on. (Or maybe not. I still have no idea where I'm going with this. It's like this thing has no ending or something...)

**michael69**: Yes! Behold the awesome might of Kawaii no jutsu and despair, foolish mortals! (Insert evil laugh here.)

**karikado:** I currently have no thoughts of stopping my fic... yet. I am yet to think up of a good way to wrap this thing up, so...

**korrd:** It shall be revealed in this chapter or the next (I can't remember anymore...). I have something up my sleeve.

Oh yeah... Before I start the next chapter, I want to make another survey, this time regarding bloodlines. Should Naruto have one? If so, what does this mysterious bloodline do? I've already recieved a review asking Naruto to have a bloodline that copies other bloodlines, so...

Okay! On with the story!

**Disclaimer**: I lose brain cells every time I write this. I think my brain is broked. Let me give it a shot for old times' sake. Narutoe dosent' blong two meh.

...Yup, it's busted alright.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

"So, let me get this straight..." surmised the reinstated Konoha-nin inside Tazuna's house, "My real name is Rin, I used to be a team mate of you," she pointed to Kakashi, "And my sensei was able to summon toads and foxes like Karin-chan?" she asked, hugging the unfortunate fox even harder. Crackling bones could be heard as she did this, and all present in the room winced at the noise.

"On the plus side... The pain's gotten to the point where it's numb, so my cracked ribs, my dislocated shoulder and my broken spine doesn't hurt as much anymore. Maybe if I die, the pain will disappear," choked the newly dubbed Karin-chan. No one seemed to have the heart to tell Rin that the fox was in excruciating agony, as they were afraid she would hurt them instead.

"That's the gist of it," said Kakashi, smiling. "So... what happened to you two years ago?"

"Let's see," she mused. "I remember blacking out when... _something_ attacked me.. It reminded me of a snake. The next thing I remember is that two people saved me. The first carried a huge sword, and I think the other carried senbon needles. That's all I remember."

Naruto, instantly recognizing who her saviours were, silently communicated with Kyuubi through his mind at her association with the man nicknamed the "Demon of the Mist".

_'Alright, Kyuubi, spill it. Why wasn't Rin-neechan_(1)_ there the last time we did this? How in hell did she end up with Zabuza and Haku the second time around?'  
_

**"Kami-sama, and I thought you were a twenty year old in a twelve year old body... You've changed things so that these turn of events happened. Remember the Hyuuga and the Uchiha incidents? Maybe something you did there changed what's going to happen. I actually don't know, because this is the first time I did the time-travelling jutsu. Feh, what's done is done, I suppose. If you need me, I'm going to go into your mind now. The damage Rin gave to my poor underling look bad enough to be serious."** At this point the fox summon disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a disappointed Rin.

"... Naruto, you still owe us an explanation about the summoning," reminded Kakashi in an almost sing-song voice, breaking Naruto out of his mental argument with Kyuubi.

"Uh... Oh look! Dinner's ready!" shouted Naruto, pointing to the table laden with food. 'When in doubt, change the subject' was one of Naruto's favorite sayings and he was going to stick to it. He happily went to the table and began to eat, pointedly ignoring his team mates' looks of "You're-hiding-something-and-you're-going-to-tell-us-after-dinner".

* * *

"It's pointless! Why should you people try to stop Gatou when he's so powerful? You're all going to die!" 

The once calm atmosphere was shattered abruptly when a familiar child's voice screamed. The said boy then burst into tears after his proclaimation. The room was silent for a moment, until-

"So... That's it? You're crying just because you think that we're all going to die? What kind of a sissy are you! Stop being a crybaby and grow up," Replied Naruto harshly. He got up, then headed towards the door.

"Naruto, where are you going at this time of night?" asked Tsunami worriedly. Even though her father warned her about the genin's prowress as a bloodthirsty maniac, she liked him. Naruto was always kind and polite to her during his stay at the house.

"Training. After all, who else is going to save this place other than my teammates and I? I'll be fine; I've lived in the forest several times before. Thank you for the meal and your concern, Tsunami-san." The blond then closed the door, leatting a cold draught sweep over the whole dinner table. The reaction was immediate: Sasuke and Hinata thanked the bridge-builder's wife, and left the house to comfort Naruto. Inari quietly got up and headed upstairs. Kakashi followed soon after, mentally kicking himself for wasting his chance to confront Naruto. Tazuna and Tsunami left to get away from the awkward moment.

Rin... merely pouted.

"I can't believe they ditched me..." She said. Sniffing abruptly, she quietly whined, "I want Karin-chan back..."

* * *

Outside in the field, Naruto stared at the copy of the forbidden scroll he had managed to write out almost hungrily. He was distracted at the prospect of learning new techniques that he managed to not notice two figures approaching him. 

"Naruto, we know you're hiding something, and... Wait, that's not a copy of the Forbidden Scroll, is it?"

Like a small child caught with their hand in a cookie jar, Naruto attempted to save face by doing the smart thing and acted innocent.

"Uh..."

Okay, scratch that.

"I.. uh... Kakashi-sensei made me do it?" he said weakly. His teammates gave him a glare so venomous that even cold-blooded killers would quaver for a moment. "Fine! This scroll is about cooking recipes, alright! I'm learning how to cook! There! You happy now?"

A crow passed by the three, crowing "Ahou, ahou!"(2) Wind blew, showing a small tumbleweed pass by. Crickets chirped.

"A... Cooking recipe scroll. You. Learning how to cook," said Sasuke skeptically.

"Yes, do you have a problem with it, teme?" He snapped back. And so began the war of insults. (3)

"Yeah, because you have an IQ of room temperature."

"No I don't! And you know what? There are several people in this world that I find obnoxious and you're all of them."

"Calling you an idiot would be an insult to all the stupid people."

"You're not the worst person in the world, but until one worse comes along, you'll do."

"You possess a mind not merely twisted, but actually sprained."

"I used to think that you were a big pain in the neck. Now I have a much lower opinion of you."

"You are living proof that evolution CAN go in reverse. I'm amazed you haven't got a Darwin Award yet for being braindead."

"Hey! That's two insults! You're not sticking to the rules you asshole!"

"Hmph. I'm surprised that you can count that high."

"Pardon me, but you've obviously mistaken me for someone who gives a shit."

"Keep talking, someday you'll say something intelligent."

"You are a piteously fiendish degenerate and a primitive, cold-hearted member of a tribe of trifling truculent twits. Ha! Take _that_!" Sasuke looked at Naruto oddly before he rebutted,

"You are a lamentably ignominious glutton and a perverted, feeble-minded object of execration. _Touché._"

"Stop it! Naruto, sorry for interrupting your... cooking scroll, but these insults aren't necessary!" Burst out Hinata.

"We know. We just do this for fun," replied Naruto with a cheeky fox-like grin. Sasuke nodded, matching a grin with Naruto.

"So.. you're learning how to cook, eh? Then let's see the scroll. I bet Hinata would like to learn new recipes, wouldn't you?" asked Sasuke almost evilly.

"Actually, I'd love to. Give me a look," she said, managing to snatch the scroll off Naruto faster than he thought. "Aha! It _is _a copy of the Forbidden Scroll!"

"I knew it! Naruto, tell us what is going on, or we might not trust you again."

The blond knew that he was stuck. He knew that if he said nothing, then they would never trust him again. On the other hand, he knew that if he told about the time-travelling and Kyuubi, there was a chance that they wouldn't trust him either.

What was the poor genin to do?

Eventually, Naruto came to a decision.

"Fine. I'll talk. But first we should go somewhere more private. This is considered an S-ranked secret that even the Sandaime Hokage decreed that punishment for failing to uphold it will result in instant execution. Understand?" The two nodded, eagerly wanting to know what their friend hid from them so much.

* * *

... Yosh! The ninth chapter complete!

Notes:

(1) Nee-chan - meaning older sister or something along those lines. From what I saw in the anime, Naruto pretty much calls every female older than him that.

(2) Ahou - meaning fool, or idiot. I liked that crow in the anime fillers so it's in there.

(3) The insults - I had fun writing them. I just felt that the two would act like that. I've got a whole load of insults I can do with Naruto and Kiba, which I might do when he shows up.

Now, as I said before, bloodlines. Personally, I dislike the idea because...

1. Too cliché. I've lost count at how many fics I have read regarding Naruto having one.

2. Too Über powerful. I know that I can make the bloodline weak from the beginning, but...

The bloodline limit ideas are still open nevertheless. The next chapter will be up soon, so please be on the lookout for it!


	10. The REAL explanation

Alright, I've slacked off long enough. Time for my next update.

The current Bloodline poll are as follows:

Bloodlines - 6  
No Bloodlines - 2 (Yes, I was the second one who said no. I await the bricks to come flying through my window any day now.)

So bloodlines are currently in the lead. Looking into the review board, (Which I thank to those who reviewed) I have seen the following bloodline ideas:

- A 'Mutated' version of the Sharingan, which is apparently able to copy other bloodlines. (I'll count II for this idea)  
- Is able to stop other bloodline limits. (I)  
- Physical enhancing bloodline limit. (I)  
- Able to talk to animals. (I)  
- 'Any will do' (I)

So currently the copying idea is in the lead. The kekkei genkai of Naruto's shall be revealed soon... but not in this chapter.

Now, on with the show!

**Disclaimer:** Please tell me that I can stop writing these things. You guys should know by now that if Naruto was mine I would've screwed up _aeons_ ago.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

Naruto cursed at his misfortune while the three were hopping through the forest, Sasuke and Hinata tailing him very closely, as if he would run at the first chance.

Which he most likely would have done.

He knew that he really shouldn't have copied the scroll word for word. Especially if that scroll said in giant letters "Secret Forbidden scroll of sealing. Do not steal."

Which it had. And which was why he was paying the price by coming up with some kind of excuse.

**"I told you to take your bullshitting lessons more seriously, but _nooo,_ you thought that you didn't _need_ it. I'm disappointed in you brat. The most feared vessel of the most strongest summon is afraid of his team mates and can't bullshit. I could just die in shame," **sobbed Kyuubi in his chibi fox form again. He was sitting in one of the corners of his cage and was sulking.

_'Cry me a river. I know I should've done it. It's too late to repair the damage, though.' _Naruto retorted with a small sigh.

**"Well, now that you mention it... You could, of course go back in time aga-"**

_'No. There is no way in hell I'm doing that timetravelling jutsu again. You tell me to do it and I will make sure to give "Karin-chan" to Rin to keep. And you know you can't poof out of there without my permission.'_

Silence.

* * *

Satified with the distance they managed to go, Naruto nodded towards his friends and said, "Alright, this should be far enough. Now what do you want out of me?" 

"I suppose we should start with your summon. Since when were you able to do that?" asked Sasuke curiously. Naruto pondered over what he should tell.

Finally he decided to summon again.

"Here. I'll summon the fox again. He can explain," he said, smiling evilly inwardly.

**"Thanks a lot for getting me to explain, kit. Thanks very fuckin' much."**

_'No, no... It's my _pleasure_, oh great and powerful Kyuubi-chan.'_ Biting his thumb and getting it to bleed, he started to make the seals again.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" He shouted, slamming his palm onto the ground. Smoke billowed forth, and out came... A small sign.

"Gone to recover internal bleeding. If that Rin person is there, tell her I'm dead. Do not disturb or summon me. Ever again," read Hinata out loud. "Naruto-kun, I don't think the little fox is going to come out."

Furiously, Naruto punched the sign. "Come out of there, you bastard!"

The sign transformed into the little fox the two saw. It seemed that "Karin-chan" was still alive. And can use henge, apparently.

"You didn't have to punch me so hard, dammit!" Yapped the fox angrily, "It was just a joke!"

"Riiight. You just didn't want to be out here, you ass. Now, explain about the summoning business or else I'll give you to Rin-nee chan dressed like a samurai," he said, crossing his arms.

"Fine," said the fox with a huff. "No need to be so grumpy about it. Anyway, why Naruto has us foxes is for one simple reason," he cleared his throat dramatically. "The reason was... That we have no clue."

The three collapsed in a small heap, twitching at the answer. This guy was no better than Kakashi's attitude, if not worse!

"Karin_-chan_..." muttered Naruto with a cold, quiet anger, using Rin's name for Kyuubi. "I am one miniscule step closer from giving you to Rin with you wearing a Kataginu(1) and a matching Hakama(2)." The others sweatdropped.

"Uh... the... information is classified?" He tried to say weakly.

"With a tiny katana to match. And I will personally make more outfits for her to dress you up in, especially pink, frilly dresses."

"Alright! I'll talk! Just not the frilly dresses, anything but _that!_" the fox yapped and involuntarily shuddered. "The reason why ol' blondie here can summon me is that found me injured in the forest by hunters that aren't so fond of foxes. My last summoner, who's name I shall not mention, was abandoned by my clan for a crime that will never be forgiven. This information is classified and not even the threat of Rin can I give it. Anyways, he managed to nurse me back to health, and luckily for him, I was the one who was able to give the responsibility to anyone as a summoner. In other words, I was the one who carried the blood contract.  
Needless to say, Naruto was excited at this and signed right after I explained that to him. So, there you go. There's your explanation. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm due for some well-deserved rest from the damage that Rin gave me."

With a poof the fox disappeared. Naruto stared at Hinata and Sasuke, wanting their judgement.

"So... That a good enough explanation?" The two nodded, but Sasuke wasn't completely satisfied.

"Alright, so you were able to explain about the summon. But what about the scroll? How did you manage to pass the genin exam anyway?" Naruto sighed at this question. This was something he slightly dreaded.

"Like I said before, it's an S-ranked secret. But I'll tell you," he breathed in and out deeply, then began his explanation.

"You remember Mizuki-sensei, our other Academy instructor? Apparently, he wanted the scroll and decided to use me to get it. As you might have seen, I'm not exactly well-liked by the villagers and he was no different. So I, being the gullible idiot as always, fell for his trick and managed to steal the scroll. It seems that Hokage-jii chan's a pervert," he said, smirking at the thought. (3)

"Anyway, I decided to copy the scroll out mainly because there are a lot of cool techniques in there. I focused on learning the first technique, then Iruka-sensei showed up, where we were attacked by Mizuki-sensei. Iruka-sensei was injured, so I used Kage bunshin no jutsu and kicked his ass. The original scroll is back where it is, but the copy I hid in the base of a tree trunk. And... yeah, that's about it, really," he finished. He then added sarcastically, "Anything else, oh humble master and mistress?"

"Actually, yes. Why are you disliked so much by the villagers? Do you know the answer?" asked Hinata. Naruto paused at this.

"That, my dear friends, is classified. I'm serious. Ask the Hokage for me to be able to freely tell you. But for now, let's just think of it as... a misunderstood bloodline. I'm giving you guys one last question before we h-" he was cut short by an eager Sasuke.

"So, you going to let us learn the scroll as well? If not, I'm going to tell Hokage-sama for telling the S-ranked secret and the pervert remark," he asked smugly.

"What! That's blackmail!" spluttered the blond hotly.

"It's _strategy_."

Dumbfounded, Naruto opened his mouth and closed it, similar to a gaping fish.

"F... Fine! But I'm not going to be held responsible for this!"

Hinata smiled faintly at the small grin Naruto hid beneath his bemused expression.

* * *

"The so-called Demon of the Mist can't even be brave enough to face a couple of kids? How pathetic! You're not even a demon! You're just a baby!" A small man in a business laughed histerically at his tasteless joke. The two ronin (4) that stood beside him laughed weakly along with him. 

His laughter was cut short by the swing of a gargantuan sword. The wielder glared at him, his killing intent strong to unnerve the other men in the room save for a smaller figure in a mask.

"Don't worry. Trust me, I'll kill those little babies they call ninja and the bridge builder. Just make sure to pay up when I'm done."

The businessman, also known as Gatou, cursed at him before leaving the room, bodyguards following faithfully. The smaller figure spoke up.

"Zabuza-san, I do not trust that man. I'm not even sure he will pay us."

"Neither do I, Haku. But it's not like we have anywhere else to go, do we? The Mist certainly ain't going to welcome me back with open arms without an executioner, and I highly doubt the other villages would accept us," replied the man nonchalantly.

Haku stared into the sky, almost in wonder at the stars and longing for something.

_'Maybe someday we can be accepted,'_ he thought. _'Maybe someday we could live somewhere we could truely call home...'

* * *

_

**Notes:**

(1) **Katagunu -** A sleeveless vest-like thing that was worn by traditional Samurai in the Feudal Era.

(2) **Hakama -** The pants that go with the Kataginu.

(3) In the manga and the anime, Naruto used the Orioke no jutsu to give the Sandaime a nosebleed, knocking him out. Still is damn funny.

(4) **Ronin -** Wandering samurai who have no master to serve. Apparently it is a very shameful thing to be.

...And we are done in this chapter! Finally!

By the way, I'm sure that most of you guys are aware that Naruto fillers are still going. Now, I don't mean to be offensive to anyone or anything, but I hate them. They're driving me to the point of insanity now.

Someone posted a note that I feel represents most in the Naruto community watching these fillers.

And I feel your pain, buddy, I feel your pain.


	11. The battle in the thick mist!

Internet was down for at least a few weeks or so. One more thing I hate about my country: Internet sucks. Badly.

Update time-!

Note: On the previous update the face didn't show up. Apparently this place dislikes emoticons.

Basically do a colon, which is this : and an opening bracket. (

Get the drift?

The current Bloodline poll are as follows:

Bloodlines - 14  
No Bloodlines - 3

So I guess the vote is unanimous for the bloodline idea.

- A 'Mutated' version of the Sharingan, which is apparently able to copy other bloodlines. (VI)  
- Is able to stop other bloodline limits. (I) - Physical enhancing bloodline limit. (I)  
- Able to talk to animals. (III)  
- 'Any will do' (I)  
- The ability to use techniques without hand seals (I)  
- A mixture of all (I)

This is the last chapter 'til I reveal what the bloodline limit is.

Again, I react well to bribes and/or death threats, especially brownies. Maybe poisoned ones as well, if you want to kill me. But you wouldn't want to do that, would you? O.o Of course, if you _do_ kill me I won't need to update, so that would be a bonus...

**Disclaimer:** RAWR! NARUTO NOT MINE! I GO LOCO FROM DISCLAIMERS!

* * *

**Chapter 11**

The next few days were unusually uneventful for Team seven.

Kakashi trained the three genin, stressing on the importance of teamwork. Which didn't actually seem to do much as they were already inseperable. After that revelation, he tried to teach them about chakra control through climbing trees. That plan didn't seem to go well either, as the three already mastered it. Eventually he gave up and spent his days reading his perverted novel.

Naruto secretly vowed to kick the Ero-sennin's ass when he met him.

Rin, meanwhile, agreed to teach Hinata about the art of medical jutsus, and also training her Jyuuken (1) through sparring. But on one condition that she was able to have her "Karin-chan" for at least an hour everyday. Kyuubi declined outright, but no one seemed to care. (A/N: poor guy... ;-;)

Sasuke rigorously trained to become more faster using weight tags as well as weighted clothing on top of it. He also occasionally sparred with Naruto, where the two tried to awaken his Sharingan.

Naruto continued to train as his tenant instructed him to do so. The training became even more hellish as punishment for the deal he struck with Rin.

During sunset the trio left to an isolated training area, where they began to learn from the Forbidden scroll, where the three agreed to divide the techniques depending on their affinity with the element. Sasuke was unanimously voted to use fire, with a few earth and Kage bunshin techniques as backup. Hinata, after much thought, decided on water. As she was going to use medical ninjutsu as well, she decided that it was enough on her plate already.

As for Naruto, he decided to go for techniques that involved a lot of chakra, so he had a lot more variety in the elements.

A week passed through this intense training. After it the familiar scene of Haku meeting Naruto occurred, and on the same day Kakashi was finally able to confront Naruto in secret.

-Flashback!-

_"Naruto, you've been given enough distractions," said Kakashi, giving the blond a hard stare. "Are you going to tell me about the summoning or not?"_

_Naruto shrugged, "Meh. If you want my honest opinion, I'd be saying no. But, that wouldn't be the case at the moment, will it?" He smirked as he added, "But you need to the Sandaime Hokage's permission for me to tell."  
_

_"Sandaime-sama already did. So talk."_

_"Fine. Well, what do you want? I don't have all day."_

_"The fox summon is one I'd like to know. The last person I remember being able to summon it was-"_

_"Yeah yeah, the Yondaime Hokage. I know. Otherwise known as your sensei. Do you want the sugar-coated with extra frosting on top lie or the truth?" Naruto asked sweetly, batting his eyes in mock innocence._

_"Truth would be nice. And I'm not asking, I'm demanding as your sensei."_

_"Alright. So you should be aware with the Kyuubi incident twelve years ago, right? And the fact that he's currently residing in my body, blah blah blah?"_

_A bit surprised at Naruto's insight, he nevertheless replied, "... Yes... And?"_

_"Has anyone asked themselves _why_ Kyuubi attacked Konoha? Have you?"_

_"Well... Because... He's a demon? And demons like destroying things?"_

_"... You're supposed to be known as a genius, right? 'Cause I'm not really seeing it..."_

_"Alright, if you're such a genius, tell me."_

_"Simple. He was the boss summon of the foxes the Yondaime summons. One day, a certain pedophillic Snake freak decided to control him. He managed to somehow steal the summoning scroll and managed to summon Kyuubi. Angry that he couldn't control the fox, the idiot used a genjutsu and drove him beserk. The Fourth decided to use his only child as the vessel and sealed him. And here we are today."  
_

_"So you're my sensei's son. And you're supposed to be, what, twenty years old?" remarked Kakashi sarcastically._

_"Precisely. Eight or nine years ago, I was dying by a Chidori attack. That you taught to Sasuke," Kakashi cringed at the comment. "Coupled with the fact that he was under the influence of a curse seal given by the snake bastard it was strong enough for him to kill me. Before I died Kyuubi was able to tell me the right hand seals for a time-travelling jutsu."_

_"And I suppose you're the one who set up traps to capture the Cloud shinobi as well?" Kakashi again said sarcastically. It was apparent that he didn't believe Naruto._

_"Right again." With this as a cue Naruto explained everything to the Kakashi, excluding any major detail, such as the Third Hokage's death or the second Chuunin Exam.  
_

_"As for why I'm telling you all of this it's because I might need your help, sensei. If I need to do something to change the future for I might need your help. I hope that'll explain everything." Getting up, Naruto left the dumbfounded Kakashi._

_"Oh, and by the way, give me a day off tomorrow from the bridge; say that I've knocked myself from training or something. You're due for a battle by none other than Momochi Zabuza himself most likely tomorrow. Make sure not to kill him, alright?"  
_

-End flashback-

After the week, the bridge was nearing completion. Of course, in the case of life, also known as Murphy's Law, something had to happen in the mission that almost screws things up. Such as a huge-ass sword swinging towards the four Konoha ninja. Already knowing who the culprit was, Kakashi raised his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan.

"Heh heh... So the great Copy ninja Kakashi already reveals his Sharingan. I feel honoured," said Zabuza, smirking. He raised his hands to form seals. "Kirigakure no jutsu!(2)" Instantly dense fog surrounded the group.

"Sasuke, Hinata, protect the bridge builder! Rin, let's go!"

Nodding, Rin closed her eyes, took out a kunai and concentrated for the missing-nin. Thanks to the two years Rin spent travelling with the two ex-mist nins, it wasn't much of a problem for her to find them.

"Meian-san, I thought you were killed by the Konoha nins? I suppose I'll just have to kill you myself. No hard feelings, eh?" Zabuza casually remarked as if he was talking about the weather.

"Actually..." Rin, detecting where her opponent was and immediately defended herself from a silent attack. "I _do_ mind. Also, the name is Rin," with that, she plunged the kunai into her attacker's face. He stiffened, then melted into a puddle. "Damnit! A mizu bunshin!(3)"

* * *

Sasuke cursed. The mission was supposed to be simple: Escort a bridge-builder to where he wanted to go, defend from bandits or enemies less worse than that, go back, get paid, then he'd go on his merry way. Maybe hide from more rabid fangirls, train.. the usual. 

Too bad life wasn't as simple as that. Instead here he was, fighting senbon needles off by an invisible foe using a kunai with Hinata as backup.

Sensing another barrage of senbon needles heading towards them, Sasuke decided to keep hidden his special attack... For now.

But where the _hell_ was Naruto when they needed him?

* * *

Back to Naruto's side, the blond genin suppressed a sneeze. He was hiding in the bushes, waiting for his signal to appear. Now was not the time for someone to be gossiping about him when he was supposed to be sneaky! 

"G.. Get away from my mom!" A small figure roared a battlecry and charged towards three other figures, two who were holding katanas.

"Stupid kid... He just wants to die, doesn't he?" said one.

"Yeah, stupid kid. Let's cut him into pieces!" said the other.

And there it was.

Just as the mercenaries were swinging their swords to kill, Naruto quickly replaced Inari with a log.

"Kawarimi?" (4)

"Inari, sorry I'm late. Then again, isn't the hero supposed to show up at the last minute?" Smirking, Naruto fingered two shuriken in his fingers. Then, with what people would call "Crappy aim" the shuriken missed their marks completely.

"You should practice your aim, kid! As if those things would work on us!" sneered one. His partner nodded.

"Yeah! Practice your aim!"

"And you! Stop echoing me! Kami-sama, you sound like an idiot!"

"What! Stop hurting my feelings! I'm holding back my tears thanks to you!"

As the two bickered, the shuriken suddenly transformed into two clones.

"What the-"

And with that, the two renegade samurai were no match for the clones' well-placed kicks to the face. (**A/N:** And I thought samurai were supposed to be _strong_? Honestly, like _one_ kick and they're down for the count? Ha!)

Stunned at what happened, Inari managed to blurt out, "How'd you know the samurai-"

"Oh, them?" Naruto paused, trying to think of a good excuse. "Uh... Ninja instinct! Yeah, let's go with that, Ninja instinct!"

"... Oh... Kay..."

"But Inari, about the other night, I'm sorry I called you a sissy. You're strong as it is!" He grinned and patted the boy's head.

Inari tried to hold back his tears.

"Damnit.. I promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore..."

"What are you talking about? It's fine to cry if you're happy!" With that, Naruto finished tying the last knot to his masterpiece: the two samurai were trussed up like turkeys with multiple small notes attatched to them, where under closer inspection were the words "Look at us! We're idiots!" and "Naruto-sama is the 0WNZ0rZ 0F J00!" (5) as well as other insults.

"Well, since you guys were attacked here, I'm guessing the bridge is being attacked as well. Inari, I can count on you here right?" The boy nodded and grinned.

"Right!"

Regaining conciousness, the two renegade samurai groggily opened their eyes to see themselves tied up and almost in a position to kiss. The self-proclaimed 'leader' of the two immediately struggled away from the other and turned away as much as the ropes would allow. With that, he decided to chat with his 'friend'.

"Oh jeez, oh fuck. Thanks to you, we're going to die. Goddamn it, Reeroy!(6) You're such an idiot! _"Let's just charge in without a plan. I mean, that woman's going to be unprotected, right?"_ Kami-sama, you're as stupid as hell!"

His partner sniffed.

"It's not not my fault."

* * *

Zabuza smirked at what was taking place. He turned his gaze to his two opponents and chatted. 

"Oh? It seems that Haku was beaten in speed. Can't have that, can we?"

"No, we can't, Zabuza-sama," replied Haku with a monotone. To be honest, he never wanted to kill people. However, if his mentor wanted people to die...

In an instant Haku and Sasuke were clashing senbon and kunai together. With this Haku smirked through his mask.

"I don't want to have to kill you... But you're not going to stand down, are you?"

"I guess not. I've got friends to protect, and they'll be pissed if I run like a coward."

For a moment Haku slightly hesitated. But only for a moment. He backed off abruptly, keeping a small distance.

"So... your precious people are important that you will risk your own life? Quite admirable. But this time, I won't be holding back."

He formed his hands into rapid handseals.

"Ninpou: Makyou Hyoushou!" (7)

Ice mirrors surrounded the two to form a large dome. His technique complete, Haku walked into to a mirror, forming many copies of himself.

"Well, shall I begin? This time, I'll show you my real speed."

The next thing Sasuke knew were needles striking everywhere. With his kunai Sasuke managed to block most of them.

"Impressive... But this time, I'll be prepared," said Sasuke. Sensing someone familiar nearby, Sasuke smirked at his opponent.

"... And this time I've brought backup."

With a wisp of smoke, a blond appeared. His blue eyes seemed to twinkle as he took out a kunai.

"You're late... Naruto."

"Sorry. A black cat crossed my path, and..."

"You and I both know that's total bullshit. Kakashi-sensei used that excuse two days ago, remember?"

"I thought it was about the one involving him teaching an old lady how to swim."

"Nah, that was the one he made a week ago."

Sweatdropping at their casual conversation of their teacher's excuses, Haku called out to them, "Uh... you two? We've got a fight to do, remember?"

The two stopped, then awkwardly shuffled their feet.

"Oh yeah.. That's right. We'll finish this conversation later, Naruto. But first, we'll need to take care of our friend here." With that Sasuke's eyes turned red. "Sharingan!"

"Showoff. Always with the dramatic effect, as expected from Uchiha-san, the drama queen."

"Spare me. You're the dramatic one."

Naruto grinned. "Fine, I guess I'll show off my kekkei genkai (8) as well."

Kakashi nearly lost his balance. His sensei had a bloodline limit? Then again, he wasn't aware that his teacher had a son either until yesterday. How come he never knew about this? Wasn't he supposed to be the prized student of the Yondaime?

* * *

... And chapter 11 has finally been completed! 

Notes:

(1) **Jyuuken** - Gentle fist. The Hyuuga clan's trademark taijutsu.

(2) **Kirigakure no jutsu** - Hiding mist technique. This jutsu envelops the surrounding area in a dense mist, causing anyone within it to lose the advantage of sight.

(3) **Mizu Bunshin no jutsu** - Water clone technique.Creates one or more identical copies of the user out of water. More similar to Kage Bunshin no jutsu than to a normal Bunshin no jutsu, these clones are capable of attacking, except for the fact that each clone's power is only one-tenth of the user. Also, the clones can only be controlled within a certain radius of the user. That is the technique's weakness.

(4) **Kawarimi no jutsu** - Body replacement technique. This is a technique that usually confuses the attacker. The user quickly projects themselves with another nearby object such as a plant (normally a section of a log), an animal, or even another person within reach, leaving the opponent open to a counter-attack.

(5) l337 5P34k. Mindless randomness. I found it funny. :P

(6) Reeroy - This is, of course a reference to Leeroy Jenkins. No offense intended to those offended by my badly done engrish. I just wanted to put the name mainly for more mindless fun. I LIKE RANDOMNESS.

(7) **Makyou Hyoushou **- Demonic mirror ice crystals. Haku's bloodline limit, this jutsu uses nearby water to become ice mirrors that completely surround the opponent. These mirrors can't be easily broken or melted because they can be harder than steel. The user can travel instantaneously between these mirrors and attack while in transit, making it nearly impossible to fend off the user's attacks or attack the user. Once inside one of these mirrors, the rest of the world appears to be in slow motion, making it very capable for the user to have an easier advantage over their opponent.

(8) **Kekkei Genkai** - Bloodline limit. Need I say more?

What could be this mysterious bloodline limit that Naruto is revealing? Find out in the next chapter!

... Of course, this'll mean that I'll have to _write_ that chapter.

... Crap.


	12. Kekkei Genkai revealed! Or is it?

Another week (or so), another chapter. Sometimes I hate you guys for inspiring me to do this. To be honest I'd rather laze about reading other people's fanfics, but you guys are relentless. X3

The bloodline limit that Naruto has is... (Insert dramatic music here)

NOTHING! AHAHAHA!

I'm kidding. :D

However, you're going to have to read this chapter to find out, 'cause I'm not saying anything here. So there. :P

**Reviewer's Corner!**

**Dragon Noir & Dragon Man 180**: I agree with that; Kakashi originally _wasn't_ going to be his confidant. However, Naruto has only a few adults he can trust who has an amount of respect or power and knew his father on a personal level (I'd say nearly all of the village should be erased by now). Even with the blatant favourism, Naruto is aware that he doesn't have many options and the other people he would have chosen doesn't even know him. Besides, he'll need all the help he can get and he's already told the Sandaime. I hope that'll answer your question.

**New Son**: Pairings have already been decided (That being Naru/Hina, Sasu/Saku, Neji/Ten and Shika/Ino). However, much of the actual 'mushyness' as I'll call it shall be after the three year jump. I feel that twelve is a bit.. too young for full-on romance. Also, I agree with the god part. There are some that make him _too_ godly. I don't mind powerful fics, just ones that make him WAY too powerful that he is pretty much untouchable.

**New Moon Werewolf**: I admit, I sped it up. I don't like writing that part and to be honest I'd rewrite that chapter if I had the time. I'll put that prank idea somewhere... I'm starting to almost feel sorry for Kakashi now... Almost.

Now, with that out of the way, on with the show!

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't need to spend my time writing _fan_fics - Everything I wrote would be canon; why would I need to write a freakin' fanfic, anyway?

* * *

**Chapter 12 **

The atmosphere was tense. Even Kakashi, Rin and Zabuza stopped their fight to see this mysterious bloodline limit of Naruto. Time seemed to have frozen; everyone seemed to be transfixed at the revelation. With a cocky grin Naruto cracked his knuckles.

"Heh. I haven't done this in a long time."

A few minutes passed. An odd draft blew, tumbleweeds blew, and crickets chirped.

Finally, the blond slapped his palms together. Haku immediately grew alert and prepared to defend himself. Sasuke slapped his forehead. What was that idiot _doing..._

"Not that this _does_ anything, but..."

With that Naruto rapidly shifted his hands into hand seals. Sasuke, realising what Naruto was going to do, did the same seals.

"Katon: Karyu Endan no jutsu!" (1)

The result was a gigantic flame in the shape of a dragon heading towards the mirror dome. Though the mirrors did not shatter, the two knew that Haku was getting very marginally tired through the strain of holding it with his chakra.

"Impressive. So you two already know that level of technique.. I suppose I'll have to stop holding back now.."

Though he didn't want to do kill his opponents, Haku knew that he could no longer afford to hold back. Suddenly, a rumbling noise was heard. A large torrent of water was heading towards pretty much everyone on the bridge. Odd.. That was an original attack by Zabuza, but it seemed that the other ninja was using it. The next thing he knew, he saw his mentor trapped.

"Zabuza-sama!"

* * *

Finally aware that he was in a battle, Kakashi snapped out of his daze to renew his fight with Zabuza. He needed to capture the missing nin without killing him, but at the moment it seemed to be quite difficult. 

Then, inspiration struck him. He was surprised that this didn't come sooner, but then again he really was feeling slow today. First he signalled Rin to stand down on the fight. Then he used his Sharingan on Zabuza. Step one of his plan was complete.

He waited for his opponent to attack. As he expected, Zabuza shifted his hands into seals that looked almost like a blur.

He copied the attack and did the same thing.

Both ended in the seal of the bird.

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!(2)"

Two enormous water dragons rose and colliding with each other. No sooner had this stalemate happened were the two colliding kunai and huge sword against each other. The mist-nin backed off and decided to use _that_ jutsu.

He shifted again into a different seal. However, he was surprised to see his opponent doing the same thing at the same time. His calm demeanor almost broke as he tried to assess the situation.

_'What the! It's almost as if he's-'_

"Completely reading them," Kakashi finished off for him. Zabuza's eye widened, but continued to form seals.

_'The hell! That bastard's-'_

"Freaky eye is pissing me off, right?"

Freaked out at the copy-nin's apparently hidden technique to read minds, the Zabuza failed to notice that he stopped forming seals and watched in horror to see his opponent finishing off his seals.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu!" (3)

Rin had to take Hinata and the bridge builder out of the way to dodge a massive amount of water heading towards their way. Zabuza, however, was not so lucky.

Getting acquainted with a nearby strong crate, he was pinned there with kunai. Half-dead, the ex mist-nin ignored Haku's cry of panic and gazed at his foe.

"Gonna... kill me, then?" he asked, with a small smirk on his face. Kakashi merely smiled tiredly.

"Nope. You were hired by that Gatou guy, right? Isn't that your employer over there?" He gestured to the short, smartly-dressed man backed by an army of bandits in the distance.

* * *

Gatou felt that today was the luckiest day of his life. Here he was, backed by his superior army of bandits against a party of tired ninjas. Except the two females he noticed was unharmed, but he did not care. After all, they were _women_. What were they going to do, _defend_ themselves with flowers? Fans? Dolls? (4) 

With glee he saw that the one that threatened him earlier was pinned to a crate with kunai. If he was by himself, he would have been nervous by that kid in the mask. But since he was with these money-hungry idiots, he never felt more sure of himself than ever.

"So this is how the great 'Demon of the Mist' has turned out to be. Ha! I was right! You _are_ nothing more than a baby! And you had the stupidity," he added, his smug smirk becoming increasingly wider, "To think that I would _pay_ you. Ha! As if I'd pay for an incompetant ninja such as yourself!"

Feeling more elated than ever, Gatou decided to taunt his other enemies for a bit.

"As for you other ninjas, tsk, tsk. If you joined me, you might have been in a high position. Of course, it would be too hard for the _women_ to keep up, but I'm sure they might be able to... _please_ me in a different way."

The ninja's eyes (Haku and Zabuza included) twitched at his remark. Very badly. Sasuke closed his eyes and his massaged his temples, muttering "The image... That horrible, _horrible_ image... Make it go away..." over and over again while Naruto looked livid, his eyes beginning to turn red through Kyuubi.

Yet even his fury did not match the two females in question. Their killing intent was so strong that it affected the bandits. Many of them even crouched into a fetal position and whispered for their mothers.

However, it seemed that killing intent did not affect people with lower IQ than a deckchair, as Gatou didn't even flinch. Had he more sense, he would have run, but his gigantic ego did not allow it.

"Too hard for us _women to keep up_...?" Hinata snarled; already using her Byakugan and looking even more intimidating.

"You, my idiotic friend," Rin said calmly, cracking her fingers loudly, "Are going to be the proud winner of a Darwin Award(5) for this one."

Both kunoichi charged at the midget in the blink of an eye. Rin closed her fist and punched him where he was thrown back about one hundred metres from where he stood. As slowly stood up, Hinata was waiting for him.

"Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou!(6)" The next thing Gatou knew, a series of two heavy strikes, followed by two more, followed by four, followed by eight, followed by sixteen, followed by thirty-two consecutive strikes were inflicted onto his body. Feeling as if a truck had struck him, the corrupt businessman had learnt a lesson as he fearfully eyed the two take out a kunai and grinning evilly.

Never, _ever_, insult kunoichi.

* * *

After Gatou's... _punishment_ (Which shall not be mentioned here, as it is way too graphic and violent for a fic rated for teens), Hinata and Rin eyed the remaining bandits, who ran away in terror. Naruto, meanwhile, stared at Zabuza. 

"So... Now what? Your employer's out of it, and he didn't seem to even want to pay you in the first place. What are you going to do?"

"I suppose... I dunno, kid. Haku and I are mercenaries; we'll get by, I guess," he replied, shrugging.

"Then... what if Konoha employs you? You'll be reinstated as a Konoha-nin and you'll be off our missing-nin list. 'Course, the Mist might not be too happy, but thanks to our alliance they're going to have to get over it, won't they?"

Zabuza gave a small smile.

"You know what, kid? You're an oddball. But I'll accept your offer. That is, of course if it would be alright with your leader?" He glanced at Kakashi, who grinned.

"Don't worry; we've had ninja like that. However, you will most likely be watched closely for a while to prove your loyalty. Agreed?"

Zabuza nodded and looked over to his subordinate. "Haku, you're going to come along as well, right?"

Haku took off his mask and smiled.

"I am, of course, your tool. I would like to live in a village as well."

Kakashi closed his eyes with glee. "Great! Now let's head back to rest for today; it's been a long day, right?" He glanced, and saw that everyone had already picked themselves up and were headed towards the village already.

"... I get no respect around here these days..." He sighed and trudged slowly along.

No one noticed that the Naruto who left with the group was a shadow clone. The real one stayed behind and quietly met with a small bird.

"So... they're gone now, right?" the small bird twittered, "Those other weird humans?"

"Yep. Now, you're going to be a bit like my eyes for me like we promised. Like a scout. That alright with you?"

"Sure. You saved my life and I'm repaying you. It'll be nice if you feed me treats or something. Preferably seeds or something," it replied.

"It's a deal, then. I'll feed you treats from time to time, and you'll scout for me. Sounds fair to me." The bird nodded, then flew off. Naruto watched it, then contemplated.

_'How I managed to gain a bloodline limit like this I'll never know, but I'll find some uses... Like with pranking. Those idiots in Konoha are going to feel like they're in hell with this...'_ He laughed evilly, causing the village of Konoha to all involuntarily shudder for some odd reason.

* * *

... And finally is the Wave Arc completed!

**Notes:**

(1) **Katon: Karyu Endan no jutsu** - Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet. Shoots an enormous ball of flame in the shape of a dragon from the user's mouth.

(2) **Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu** - Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique. A powerful attack that creates a huge current of water, usually in the form of a dragon, sent towards the target.

(3) **Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu -** Water Release: Water Explosion Technique. This technique is used to create a massive blast of water.

(4) ... Yes, I made Gatou sexist. So what? I don't like him. :P

(5) Darwin Award: An award given to honor given to people who purportedly improve the human gene pool by removing themselves from it following an episode of questionable judgement. Darwin Awards are funny. I like funny things. So there. :D

(6) **Hakke Rokujuuyon Shou** - Divination Field: Sixty-four strikes. In a series of two heavy strikes, followed by two more, followed by four, followed by eight, followed by sixteen, followed by a dazzling thirty-two consecutive pinpoint-precision strikes, this jutsu closes 64 of the 361 tenketsu of the opponent completely. (And yes, I pretty much copied the description from Wikipedia to the fic. Shoot me.)

...And surprisingly, the talking to animals has won! Thanks for voting everyone. I've got a story mapped out now, so I marginally have an idea of what I'm going to do. That in itself is what I'd call a miracle.

So, 'til next time, goodbye, and goodnight (Or day)! Don't do drugs, sniff paint and all that razz.


	13. Bullying little kids is not fun

Writing chapters is troublesome these days. If someone had a machine that transferred your ideas into words I'd already have bought it by now.

Then you guys wouldn't wait for a chapter for so long and I would be happy that I got to do less work. Ah well. Dreams will be dreams, I guess.

**Reviewer's Corner!**

**Demon of Konoha:** ... I realised my mistake when I uploaded the chapter. At the moment I am currently too lazy to change one word from that chapter. My apologies.

**dragondude:** On your chapter 6 review, my excuse is that... I don't really have one. Think of it as a small, yet deliberate plothole. As for the summon, technically Naruto didn't summon Kyuubi. He summoned a lower-levelled fox with the mind of Kyuubi. That way the seal is still in place and I am saved from the evilness that is plotholes. XD

**Dragon Noir:** Yes, I am stingy. Like I said a while ago, I suck at writing fluff and action, which is why the fights look very rushed and sloppy. As for Kakashi, either he feels that high-leveled techniques were explained through Naruto's explanation, or, simply put, he no longer seems to care anymore. Having met your long-dead teacher's son and a team mate considered dead for two years is enough to make anyone at least surprised and feel like nothing will surprise them anymore.

**PsychoB:** Knowing my incompetance at writing fluff, I highly doubt it. However, when the opportunity shows up, I will have it somewhere. As twelve year olds, I am beginning to doubt that I will have a lot of fluff. When the three year jump shows up... Passing up a chance to make horrendously embarrassing scenes for hormone-imbalanced teenagers? Inconcievable!

**Rian:** One bloodline limit is enough for me. Too many will make my head spin.

**Link Fangirl01:** Actually, I live in this lil' place called New Zealand. Where the only people who know what Naruto is are those obsessed with Japanese anime. Also, it's winter. My brain is like chocolate. It melts in summer. Kek.

Now for one of my favourite arcs... The Chuunin Exam! What will change here? I'm not going to tell you! AHAHAHA-

(Whack!)

Ow... Anyway, on with the show!

**Disclaimer**: For the LAST BLOODY TIME, NARUTO ISN'T MINE! NO, I'M NOT GOING CRAZY! WAHAHAHAHAH-

(Whack!)

Ow... Who the heck keeps hitting me, anyway? H-hey, wait! Don't start the chapter without m-

* * *

**Chapter 13**

It was another ordinary day in Konoha. Birds sang, children played, and ninjas did their ninja... -y things.

... And rabid fangirls continued to pursue Sasuke (And surprisingly the new Konoha chuunin Haku), along with Naruto and Hinata, who were merely at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"...See? This is _exactly_ why I told you to _never_ take off your mask. Ever. Now that you don't have a reputation here as a cold-blooded killer, the fangirls are out for your blood," said Naruto.

"What is wrong with those girls? They've chased us for about an hour already. How do they have such godly stamina, anyway?" panted Haku.

"That would be my bad. They've kinda done this on a daily basis. To be honest, in the Wave country I was almost jumpy that no fangirl attacked yet. Also, coupled with the fact that most have had ninja training they're almost worse than S-class missing-nins," replied Sasuke, shuddering. "I wonder what would happen if I wore one of those face masks that Kakashi-sensei wears... Maybe it'll steer off some of them..."

All conversation was interrupted when Naruto accidentally collided into a tall figure. A tall, black figure with something strapped to his back currently tormenting a small boy. Angrily, the figure grabbed onto the genin's arm.

"What the.. Another midget! What is it with this village and small kids? I hate them!" he cursed.

_'Midget?'_ thought Naruto darkly. _'Did this asshole just call me a **midget?**_ _Well, let's just see how he'll like it when one of my little friends pay a visit..._'

"Leave Konohamaru-kun alone! Isn't it enough that he said sorry already?" cried one of the boy's friends.

"Yeah, he begged for his life like you told him to, and he even sang the first six verses of the 'I'm sorry I'm an idiot' song!" cried another. The other Konoha nins sweat-dropped at this.

_'I'm... sorry I'm an... idiot song? What is this world coming to, anyway?'_

"Kankurou.. don't you think that you're going too far already?" asked his comrade warily. "We're not supposed to pick fi-"

"I don't care Temari, this brat started it. And as for you! I told you already; I didn't want to hear the song. Besides, you didn't do the dance that went with it," he replied. "Now, as for the other shorty... You can start with apologis... eh?" he trailed off when he noticed that he was now holding a log. "Kawarimi?"

"You sure are slow, aren't you?" he looked up to see Naruto lazily lying on top of a tree. "I've been here ever since you were talking about the dance. I mean, what kind of loser picks on little kids, anyway?" Sasuke decided to step in from there.

"Now, did you know that the boy you're picking on right now is the Hokage's very own grandson? And that if something were to happen to him... I think that being kicked out of the Chuunin exams should be enough, don't you think?"

"Kankurou..." a chilling voice pierced the air. The one named Kankurou and his team mate froze; It wasn't the fact that the voice itself was intimidating; it was the fact that the words were completely covered with killing intent. "If you do something that will make us fail... I _will _kill you." A person carrying a large gourd seemed to appear in a whirl of sand.

"B-bu-but..."

"I mean it, Kankurou. I will kill you if you mess up. Let's go," he turned and started to coolly walk away.

"By the way... Your name... what is it?" asked Sasuke.

"You mean me?" said the girl hopefully.

"No. I mean the one with the gourd."

"... Gaara. Sabaku no Gaara(1). I'm also interested in yours and the blond one. What are your names?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Interesting... Kankurou, Temari, let's go."

After they left, Naruto realised something. "Hey Sasuke, how did you know that there was a Chuunin exam coming up?"

"I'm an Uchiha, remember? I overheard my parents talking about it a while ago. That, and if you also remember most of my clan is in the police force. I heard them discussing about 'suspicious' individuals for the upcoming exam or something."

"Actually, I knew about it as well, Naruto-kun. Otou-sama (2) has been talking to my uncle(3) about it quite often, as well as having bets as to who will win against me and my cousin, Neji. I thought you already knew about the exam, anyway."

"What! How would I know? Well, at least Haku hasn't abandoned me. You _would_ tell me, right Haku?"

"Uh... Actually.. Being a Chuunin and all... I'm helping in the exams as well..."

A small silence reigned for a moment. Then, Konoha had heard a voice that could be heard to the outskirts of the village itself.

"WHAT!"

* * *

"Where the _hell_ is Kakashi-sensei? I thought he promised to stop being late ever since we brought Rin back to Konoha," complained a very irritated Sasuke. 

"Admit it, you saw it coming," replied Naruto airily. "He just said it so we would stop pestering him."

"Naruto-kun, why aren't you more angry about this?" asked Hinata.

"Well, you remember hearing that loud scream this morning?"

"Yes... and?" Then, Hinata gasped. "You wouldn't... You didn't.."

"Let's just say Kakashi-sensei will have a good excuse to be late this time..." he cackled evilly.

Then, as if on cue, a green figure arrived. Upon closer inspection would make the observer wish that they didn't. The figure wore a green, tight-fitting green jumpsuit. Perched on his head was a mop of black hair shaped into a bowl cut. Nori(4) was attached above his eyes, giving a large eyebrow effect. The only thing that distinguished this man from being Maito Gai was that part of his forehead protector covered his left eye.

"... Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sasuke cautiously.

"Na... ru... to..." growled Kakashi threateningly. "Give me.. the instructions to get this stuff... off me. NOW."

"Can't do that, Kakashi-sensei," teased Naruto in a sing-song voice.

"Well, I suppose I can't give you this Chuunin exam pass I was going to give you... What a shame, isn't it?"

"... I'll help you take the jumpsuit off, sensei. But first, you're going to have to give us the passes first. Either that, or you're going to keep walking like Gai-sensei for the rest of your life."

Reluctantly, Kakashi gave the passes to his students, but not without glaring at the blond that got him in the mess in the first place.

"Now... get this off me."

"Can't do that, Kakashi-sensei."

"WHAT!"

"The stuff's there 'til the end of the day. I suggest hiding for the whole day. Maybe not show yourself in public today. Have a nice day!" With a grin, Naruto gave a thumbs up sign and ran. Kakashi buried his hands to his face.

_'Why does he have to be exactly like Arashi-sensei? Why did he have to get sensei's pranking tendency as well?'

* * *

_

Please don't kill me, the next chapter will come earlier.

... Well, earlier than a week, anyway. Or so I hope.

(1) **Sabaku no Gaara** - Translates to "Gaara of the Sand" or "Gaara of the desert".

(2) **Otou-sama** - Japanese for 'Father' in a very polite term by adding sama at the end.

(3) If you remember, Hizashi didn't die this time around. The guy's still alive and kicking.

(4)** Nori** - the Japanese name for various edible seaweed species. Basically the dried seaweed stuff you wrap in sushi.

Kudos to **New Moon Werewolf** for the prank idea. :D


	14. Lee and Gai? The HORROR!

Eheh... Sorry for the late update, an eagle flew through my way, and...

... Yeah. I was held up with many things that I utterly hate. Such as work. So I wasn't dead, so sorry to those who wanted me to kick the bucket. I'm still alive to pester you all. >:D

In my defense, the "Summer holidays" as you people would call it is on December.

**Reviewer's Corner!  
**

**Dragon Noir:** It probably is getting shorter... And yes, I do need a lot more practice. As for the fangirls... They fell into another one of my many plotholes. I need to practice getting rid of those things as well. D:

A short reviewer corner this time! As for the people who ask about what is going to happen in the Chuunin exam, I'm not telling you. You have to find out for yourself. >:D

**Disclaimer:** Do you think that the name 'Kishimoto Masashi' - the same person who created Naruto - is a name that can be easily found in the place the early settlers called 'Land of the Long White Cloud'? Ha!

* * *

**Chapter 14**

As Team 7 approached room 301, they noticed a couple of things.

One, the room wasn't room 301 at all; merely a genjutsu to confuse. Usually more well-known as tricks that ninjas/magicians use as party tricks.

And second, no one seemed to notice.

With this thought in their minds, they disbelievingly gaped at a boy with a bowlcut and a green jumpsuit being pushed down easily by another chuunin hopeful.

"Ha! If this is all you've got, you shouldn't even try to become chuunin!" laughed one.

Quietly, Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata slipped through upstairs to the real room 301. However, they did not go unnoticed, as a pair of white eyes watched.

* * *

"Uchiha Sasuke! Fight me!" 

Naruto inwardly groaned. He had hoped to avoid the confrontation with Gai's carbon copy.This was one part of history he never wanted to see. He prayed quietly that Sasuke would not accept the fight, and-

"Hmph. Fine. I accept your challenge."

Damn you, Kami-sama. (1)

As Sasuke walked towards the area, Naruto muttered, "Remember the plan."

"I know. I got it."

Just then, two high-pitched yells echoed across the room.

"SASUKE-KUN!"

The spectators watched as two blurs towards their target. Sasuke inwardly cursed to himself.

Shit.

He braced for the impact that was inevitably to come. The next thing everyone knew were two girls hugging - no, literally _crushing_ their crush as if their lives depended on it.

"Windpipe... choking.." gagged Sasuke.

"Back off, Ino-pig, Sasuke-kun is mine!" growled Sakura.

"Says who, forehead girl?"

"Says me!"

"Oh yeah? And you and what army?"

"Me and_this_ army!" replied Sakura, holding up her fist.

"Yare yare... I knew this would turn troublesome..." A bored voice said.

"Shikamaru? What do you mean, 'this would turn troublesome'? And since when were you here in the first place?" Asked Hinata curiously.

"Well, we pretty much decided to follow you guys through the genjutsu. Cue team 8, then Ino and Sakura is killing Sasuke as you can see here," he replied nonchalantly, directing his gaze to the unfortunate boy now turning into a lovely shade of blue.

"Um, ladies? You might want to let go of your precious Sasuke-kun, or else he's gonna suffocate," Naruto called out.

The two then realised what they were doing and looked. Sasuke was now past the point of blue and his soul was slightly flying out of his mouth. Instantly they stopped hugging and their object of affection's face was returning its normal colour. (A/N: Aw... I liked the pretty blue colour..) Gasping, Sasuke sucked in the welcome oxygen.

"Thanks... Naruto.. But couldn't.. you have said it.. sooner?"

"Well, yeah, but it was fun to see you turn blue," he grinned. _'But I wonder why Lee hasn't said anything yet.. it's not natural for him to be this qu-'_

"Excuse me, but are you Sakura?"

_'Spoke too soon, I suppose,'_ Naruto sighed, almost wistfully. _'I missed the quietness...'_

Sakura thought. If she said something wrong, the creepy boy might attack her. "Um.. yes?"

Wrong answer.

In reply, Lee blushed and glanced shyly at her. "Would you like to go out with me, Sakura-san?"

"Oh! Did you say _Sakura?_ Oh, no, I'm not Sakura, I'm... uh... Ino! Yeah, let's go with that, Ino! The blond girl over there is called Sakura!" The green jumpsuit-clad genin turned his attention to Ino-now-called-Sakura.

**'HELL YEAH! We got rid of that weirdo plus we one-upped Ino-pig! Sasuke-kun must be drooling over my intelligence now!'** Yelled Inner Sakura. **'I can't believe that idiot thinks that pig is-'**

"Oi, Sakura! What are you doing, let's go! Shino's already gone on without us!" yelled Kiba. Akamaru jumped off his owner and tugged at Sakura's heels. "See? Even Akamaru wants to get moving! So let's GO!"

**'... I am going to neuter that Kiba mutt.'** Sighing, she ran as fast as she could to room 301.

"We should get moving as well, Ino. This is getting too troublesome anyway," muttered Shikamaru.

A small silence met the remaining four. A small cricket chirruped in the distance. Then finally Rock Lee hit his fist onto his palm in realisation.

"So that means.. The pink haired girl really is called Sakura!" Team 7 collapsed anime-style.

"Er.. are we still fighting?" asked Sasuke.

"Hm? Oh yes! The fight!" Adopting his taijutsu stance, Lee waited. "Well? Aren't you attacking?"

"Hmph. Overconfident, are we?" With this Sasuke charged.

_'I'm sorry sensei, but I might need to use _that_ move..'_ thought Lee. He became a blur of speed and seemed to disappear for a moment. "Konoha Repuu!(2)"

Sasuke saw the sweeping attack clearly and dodged it. However, he wasn't fully prepared for his opponent's next attack and took a direct hit in the chest. Slightly winded, Sasuke smirked.

"You're stronger than I thought... I guess I'm going to have to take it up a notch! Sharingan!" Eyes red, he attacked. Retaliating, Lee quickly unravelled his bandages and gave a swift kick to the head, sending the Uchiha flying.

"Kage Buyou(3)!" Without a moments hesitation, Lee had his opponent in a bear hug and prepared for his next attack. "If your Sharingan is a genius type from the Uchiha blood, I am simply a hardworking type who has only mastered taijutsu. Now, get ready for the attack that will prove that Hard work shall surpass the genius! Omo-"

"That's enough!"

Before he could finish his attack, Lee's bandages were pinned to the wall and himself soon afterward. Being let go, Sasuke immediately balanced himself and landed on the ground with minor injuries.

"Lee! You are not supposed to use the technique! How many times have I told you that you are not to use that technique until you need to!" Naruto, Hinata and Sasuke turned to find...

A giant red turtle.

"But-"

"SILENCE!" Atop the turtle's shell was a sight that would even make the strongest of fangirls cry.

"The same bowlcut..." murmered Hinata.

"The same green jumpsuit..." muttered Sasuke.

"That... that freaky eyebrow..." gasped Naruto.

"G-Ga-Gai.. sens-"

Before anyone could even blink Lee was punched in the face.

"LEE! THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A FORBIDDEN TECHNIQUE! THOUGH I ADMIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH, YOU ARE STILL NOT ALLOWED TO USE IT! WHERE HAVE I FAILED AS YOUR INSTRUCTOR?" screamed/wailed/shouted/all of the above... -d Gai.

"Forgive me, Gai-sensei! For my punishment, I shall run around Konoha five times! If I fail that, I shall punch a stump 500 times! If I fail that, I shall kick the stump until I collapse!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

With that the two burst into tears and hugged each other, much to the audience's and The Author's increasing discomfort. A backdrop of a sunset quietly hung behind them.

A few more minutes of disturbing hugging later, Gai began speaking.

"Now... You three are Kakashi's students, corre..." He trailed off as he noticed that team 7 were missing. "Where did they go?"

"Gai-sensei, I think they ran away from awe of our awesome might!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

Very freaked out beyond all reason, The Author decided to end the horrifying chapter.

* * *

Translator notes: 

(1) **Kami-Sama:** God.

(2) **Konoha Repuu -** Leaf Gale. A spinning kick that sweeps the opponent off their feet.

(3) **Kage Buyou -** Shadow of the Dancing Leaf. While the target is airborne, the user jumps in such a way as to appear below the target while following a similar trajectory through the air. Since the victim is airborne, he is in a vulnerable position to a more damaging attack such as the Omote Renge or the Shishi Rendan.

Brr... That was the most disturbing of chapters I have ever written.

Now for the first Exam! What should happen there, eh? Only the insane author knows!

'Til then, so long and for the LAST TIME, DON'T SNIFF PAINT!

:B


	15. The first examination begins!

Rebooting author... Please wait...

Author rebooted.

**Reviewer's Corner!**

**Matt and T.K:** Probably won't be any Kaka/Rin pairing here. I wouldn't get my hopes up, in any case.

N: Konoha senpuu is a stronger version of Konoha Repuu. That's basically it.

**PsychoB:** You have my permission to use the prank idea, but technically it's not mine. The reviewers were the one who suggested them. I'm too braindead to think of very elaborate pranks.

A big thank you to all of those who continue to read my fic! I also thank you for not beating me up with blunt objects to threaten me!

Now with that out of the way, we will now return to your regularly scheduled chapter.

**Disclaimer:** ... I give up. This disclaimer thing is annoying me. Seriously, if I owned Naruto, for a start, I'd be rich. Also, I'd most likely use my free time to work on the manga, not some fanfic.

* * *

**Chapter 15**

"That... was way too close," panted Naruto.

Managing to escape from the horrifying scene, Team Seven found themselves in a room filled with chuunin hopefuls.

... Who were focusing their killer intent onto the three for causing a scene.

"Well... This is awkward," muttered Sasuke.

"I'd say troublesome would be a better word for it," drawled a lazy voice.

The three turned to see Team Ten (minus Ino) heading towards them.

"Shikamaru-san, what happened to Ino-san?" asked Hinata.

"Her? I think she went off to fight with Sakura or something again. Eh.. It's too troublesome to know." He shrugged. Chouji continued to munch on his (Maybe) endless supply of chips.

"For the last time, Sasuke-kun is MINE!" Shouted a voice that suspiciously sounded like Ino.

"No, he's mine!" Snapped a voice that sounded suspiciously like Sakura.

Sasuke merely slapped his forehead.

"Naruto! It's been a while, dobe!" called out a voice. A small bark accompanied this.

"I may have been the dead-last, but yes, it has been a while, captain obvious," replied Naruto.

"Wha... Well, it must have been so hard to pass the genin exam. What, did you manage to fail so badly that you passed?"

And so began another insult battle.

"Why, thank you for your input, we're all challenged by your unique point of view."

"When you pass away and people ask me what the cause of your death was, I'll say it was your stupidity."

"Your house is so nasty, I tripped over a rat, and a cockroach stole my wallet."

"Hey! Don't insult Akamaru! Also, you had nothing in your wallet worth taking!"

The rest of the group sweatdropped at the statement. "So... His house _does_ has a pet cockroach..?" murmured Ino.

"I heard your parents took you to a dog show and you won."

"That was a one-time thing! They did it to test my henge abilities! Also, I heard that you went to the haunted house and they offered you a job."

"My, Kiba-sama, you are very smart, aren't you? You have brains you never used."

"Hey, hey, knock it off. You cute lil' genin lost sight of your surroundings or something?" The nine genin turned to look at none other than Yakushi Kabuto. Naruto tried hard to suppress his instinct to kill.

**'You know.. If you want to kill him, I'd advise against it for now. Though, I'd most likely try to stop you half-assedly if you did.'** said Kyuubi.

_'Odd... I thought you died since I haven't heard you in a while, Kyuubi-sensei.'_

**'I thought you were supposed to respect your elders. I was merely.. napping.'** The fox in Naruto's mind turned chibi again and gracefully... blew a raspberry.** 'By the way, you should pay attention to what the traitor is saying. It's not in character for you to be spacing out.'**

_'... I knew that.'_

**'Sure you did.'**

Snapping out of his trance, Naruto returned to hear Kabuto finishing his explanation about his info cards.

"Now, as for the sound village... They don't pose much of a threat. The only thing you should watch out for is their attitud-"

The gray-haired "Genin" was interrupted by a swipe from a ninja who was covered in bandages, which he seemed to have dodged easily. The nine were surprised (Except Naruto, who feigned his surprise) to see that Kabuto then coughed up blood.

"Write this in your pathetic cards... We sound-nin are stronger than you think," he growled and walked away.

"These exams are getting a lot tougher than I thought.. maybe I should just quit.." whispered Ino to herself. Sakura seemed to be thinking along those lines.

Naruto knew what to do there.

"HEY YOU PUNKS! MY NAME IS UZUMAKI NARUTO AND I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASSES! REMEMBER THAT!"

Sasuke punched Naruto in the head. "Baka, you just made enemies with everyone in this room. What did you want to do, kill yourself?"

However, his bold statement did the trick; many of the chuunin hopefuls seemed to have relaxed a bit.

.. Which was why the first examiner, Morino Ibiki, was slightly unnervered to see that none of his victims were nervous.. yet.

_'Looks like we've got an interesting bunch this year.'_

* * *

"Alright, you brats! My name is Morino Ibiki, and I shall be your first examiner. The first exam is very simple.. It's a written exam!" 

He was greeted by the typical moans of distress by the examinees. One particular genin was unlucky enough to voice his opinion.

"What? This is pathetic! What will this do-"

He was silenced immediately by a kunai thrown near his groin. "Next time, I won't miss," said Ibiki with a smirk.

The room was instantly quiet, save for a few sobs of fear by the unfortunate genin.

"Now, since you're all quiet, I guess I should start to tell you the rules. As I was saying, this is a written exam, and if you cheat, you lose marks. If your marks are nil by the end of this exam, you will fail. As for the blank space for Question 10, you shall get it in an hour. Now, BEGIN!"

The room was quiet, save for the furious scribbling of pencils. (A/N: Did they use pencils? I've already forgotten)

The genin had realised that the questions were harder than it should be, and knew that the aim of the exam was to cheat.

Sasuke used his Sharingan, Hinata and Neji both used their Byakugan, Sakura used her extensive knowledge to answer to her own ability and Ino used the Shintenshin no jutsu (1) to copy Sakura's work.

Others used less subtle methods. Kiba used Akamaru, who barked the answers, Shino used his insects, Tenten used an array of mirrors to copy, while Lee copied the answers with that. Shikamaru used his Kagemane no jutsu (2) to mirror his movements with Chouji, while Naruto... fell asleep.

In actual fact he was pretending, and counting down until his plan fell into place. _'My friends should be coming in 3... 2.. 1...'_

Suddenly, the entire room was filled with an array of birds, foxes, and other different animals which proceeded to attack the proctors. While the room was in chaos, Naruto quickly used a Kage Bunshin and transformed it into a fox. The fox then swapped a blank examination paper with one of the chuunin's (who was assigned to be acting as an examinee) answer sheet. Naruto recieved the paper from the bunshin, where the fox saluted and poofed out of existance.

Just as quickly as they came, the animals were gone. The room was silent yet again.

Crickets chirped. Someone coughed.

Ibiki wiped the fecal matter off his face and nodded towards where a hand was raised.

"Um.. Can I go to the toilet?"

* * *

That's the end of the first examination, because I cannot be bothered to write what happens next (The same thing happens in the manga and anime, if you wanted to know). Besides, the second exam is way better, isn't it?

Notes:

(1) Shintenshin no jutsu - Mind Body Switch Technique. One of Yamanaka's trademark attacks, this technique allows the user to enter a target's mind, taking control of their body and senses.

(2) Kagemane no jutsu - Shadow Imitation Technique. A trademark technique used by Shikamaru, his jutsu allows the user to control their own shadow and merge it with their opponent's shadow, combining them. This links the movements of the user with the target; the target is subsequently forced to make any movement the user makes.

I'm not dead yet, but I procrastinate too much. Let's hope that I'll be able to write the next chapter more quickly. I respond quite well to threats and reviews:3


	16. Inside the Forest of Death, Part 1

Hopefully, by the time I update, this one will be faster than usual. 

Reviewer's Corner!

**Stonesoul:** Thank you for the compliment and as for the death threat... um... thank... you..?

**Dragon Noir:** I said foxes and other animals. I just couldn't be bothered to write them down. And yes, I am extremely lazy. :3

**Link fangirl01:** Yes, paint and sharpies do smell nice. This will most likely explain my lack of brain cells. :D

**Darkflame:** Believe me, I'd love to update faster, but I don't have enough time nowadays. Also, there's the fact that my internet doesn't work at my house, so I use the compy whenever I can. Oh, and "Nil" means zero. Or that was what I was thinking as I wrote the chapter.

**People who threatened me with various ways:** I'm writing, I'm writing! Don't kill me! DX

* * *

**Chapter 16**

Orochimaru was pleased as he observed his prey at a distance. Extremely pleased, in fact, as his plan was falling into place. Kabuto was able to infiltrate Konoha easily and as an added bonus befriended Sasuke. Of course, there were a few setbacks here and there over the past few decades, such as the failed experiment involving sixty test subjects and the First Hokage's DNA (1), the Kyuubi incident, and the most recent failure to annihilate the Uchiha Clan.

However, there were also some successes to his failures. He had, for example, finally discovered how to be immortal. According to his trusted spy, Kabuto, he found out that the Kyuubi brat was a loudmouth, dead-last idiot with hardly any potential at all. This was good, because it meant that he would be easy to dispose of or maybe tame to make a good subordinate. Knowing the Kyuubi's powers, he was sure that the simpleton would have potential if taught by the right people such as himself.

He had also found out that his precious Sasuke was bent on revenge on his brother (2), and, much more to his delight was considered the Number one rookie of his age group. About two years ago (3) he visited Konoha to see if his future vessel was strong and intelligent, and Sasuke fit the description quite well. Besides, he was handsome to boot - an added bonus.

Orochimaru smirked. Now he had his chance to claim his prize. Under the guise of a Kusa-nin (4), he could give the "Present" with little suspicion. If the Konoha fools were finally able to realise what happened, he still had the Kazekage to fall back to. After all, the real leader of Suna was dead. By the time those idiots found out, the attack would have already happened.

Summoning several large snakes, he quietly instructed, "Go and kill the one with yellow hair and blue eyes when he is isolated. How you do it is up to you." The snakes replied with a faint hiss of yes and slithered away.

Orochimaru frowned slightly. He would have to teach those snakes how to speak in the human tongue later. (5)

* * *

Finding a marginally hidden place, Team Seven decided to camp for the night. It wasn't a matter of fatigue; rather they figured that because they were considered weak the majority of the other genin would target them. With Hinata's help, they managed to find a good location. It was slightly obvious to help give the illusion that they truly were rookies, yet hidden so that they were able to place an extensive amount of traps. With Naruto's expertise in the area and Sasuke's ingenuity, the campsite was riddled with so many traps one would wonder how they managed to carry so many weapons.Offering to scout ahead (And act as live bait), Naruto left the campsite. He was warned a while ago by his bird/scout that large snakes were in the area and decided to confront them. After all, this time around he had unlocked his bloodline limit of talking to animals. Perhaps they were friendlier than they looked.

Or maybe they were just evil bastards.

With this thought in mind, Naruto stealthily wandered around aimlessly. He was not one who had a very good sense of direction, but still had the luck of a God that it pretty much cancelled the two out.

Coincidentally, it was the exact place where the summoned snakes were, so a conflict was inevitable.

"It's the kid! That kid Orochimaru-sama mentioned!" hissed one.

"Let's just eat him already. I haven't eaten in days," hissed another.

"He is the one, right?"

"Of course he is, you dumbass! Can you not see the yellow hair and blue eyes!"

"Um... excuse me," interrupted Naruto in animalese (6). The snakes were surprised. How could this... this _human_ speak their language? "You said that you were searching for a kid with yellow hair and blue eyes. Unfortunately, I do not fit that description."

The snakes gaped at him. "... What?"

"I said that I do not fit your description. My eyes may look blue, but if you look closely, it is actually more of a dark blue. There's a difference, you know."

"That's ridiculous!" Hissed one, "It looks blue to me!"

"Hold on there, Hebimaru (7), I see where he's coming from. I once took an advanced art class when I wasn't employed by Orochimaru-sama. Actually, he's more of a cerulean blue."

"First off, why an art class! You don't even have hands or legs! Anyway, it's obviously an Azure, I'd say."

"Azure? Are you blind? In fact, under this light, he looks almost indigo."

This began a discussion of what Naruto's "True" eye colour was, which ranged from Alice blue to even violet.

Eventually they agreed that whatever colour his eyes were, it was not blue. With that the snakes left, some muttering a small apology for the mistake.

Without any traces of an injury, Naruto hurried back towards his comrades. Orochimaru was most likely attacking Sasuke at that moment, and who knew what he would do to Hinata-chan?

**"Aha! And here returns the -chan suffix! You like her, don't you?"**

_'Now is not the time to gloat, Kyuubi-sensei. But yes, I do like her... AS A FRIEND.'_

**"We're making some progress here. I'm impressed. But actually, it _is_ the time to gloat. Therefore..."** With that, Kyuubi turned into chibi mode again, this time holding flags with images of a terrifying fox with a small cowering boy with yellow hair. Victorious music was heard and a monkey on a unicycle went around the room going "Wheeee!" (8)

Naruto could not think up of a witty retort so opted to pout.

_

* * *

_

Hinata was beginning to panic. An unknown ninja was chasing her and Sasuke, and Naruto was nowhere to be found. Whoever the ninja was, he was no genin, that much was certain.

"Kukuku... Very impressive, Sasuke-kun.. But now it's over!" With that the ninja stretched his neck, bared his fangs and prepared to strike the unfortunate Uchiha.

Instead he was surprised to see that in the last minute a blond knocked his victim out of the way and ended up getting bitten on the shoulder.

"Naruto-kun!" screamed Hinata.

Clutching his neck, Naruto muttered, "Sooner or later... I _will_ kill that freak..." and fainted. Three comma-like marks appeared from where he clutched his neck.

"Damn that Uzumaki brat!" cursed Orochimaru. The snake sannin turned to Sasuke almost apologetically. "I apologise, Sasuke-kun; it seems that this fool has taken your present. However, I can still give you a new one!" He began to elongate his neck again and prepare to strike at his target until...

"Makyou Hyou Shou!(9)"

A mirror of ice formed in front of his path. Orochimaru slightly backed off.

"Don't move. You will pay for attacking one of my precious people, Orochimaru." Out of the mirror appeared a Chuunin holding several senbon needles and looking extremely livid. With an almost casual flick he threw the needles into his opponent's vital organs.

Cursing again, he managed a smile as he sunk into the ground.

"A Tsuchi Bunshin (10)?" muttered Haku.

"Mark my words, I will be back..." Said the earth clone as he sunk into the ground. "And if he survives my power, eventually that blond haired brat shall seek me for power..."

"You're wrong," said Sasuke quietly, "He vowed to kill you with me."

* * *

"Apart from the obvious damage done to Naruto-san, is everyone alright?" asked Haku.

"Yes... but will Naruto be alright?" Asked Sasuke.

"A while ago I talked to Anko-san about this, because she had an odd mark on her shoulder as well. It turned out that she was bitten by Orochimaru as well. However, that mark is called a 'Cursed Seal'. Apparently it only has a ten percent chance of success."

Hinata gasped. "Then... does this mean that Naruto-kun only has a ten percent chance of living?"

"That maybe true. But Naruto-san is strong. I'm sure that he will be alright."

"How did you know that.. that... _thing_ was there?"

"Naruto used a messenger bird to tell me. It was lucky that I was in the area. Unfortunately, I cannot stay any longer, or else you'll be disqualified. Knowing Naruto-san, he would kill me if I helped make you fail." Using a series of seals Haku disappeared.

* * *

This chapter is way too serious. We need a very small...OMAKE!

Mako (A/N: Forget his name. It is unimportant!) was nervous. A while ago he heard his team mates scream in terror at something. Whatever it was, it was huge. He noticed that several trees were knocked down in the process, and those trees were_ Gigantic_. He nervously patted his yellow hair down, as it was his way of calming himself.

A rustle in the bushes nearby put Mako fully alert and more paranoid by the minute. Out of the bushes were several of the most enormous snakes he had ever seen in his life. He rubbed his blue eyes to try to convince himself that what he saw was a fabrication.

It wasn't. The snakes seemed pretty happy to see him though.

Mako cursed and prepared himself for the inevitable death by digestion, until another rumble alerted him.

Whatever it was, it was coming closer..

A giant cluster of pretty much everything rolled into him and the snakes, where he was pretty much stuck there for the rest of his life.

On the plus side, he found his team mates, plus the snakes didn't seem so hungry anymore.

Mako closed his eyes and remembered the last thing his mother told him.

_"Be warned, son. There is a myth that an extremely tiny creature rolls a very sticky ball in the Forest of Death. The creature who wields the ball can make it larger with everything it rolls over. So it could roll ants, where it progressively grows into rolling bears, trees and even humans who are doomed to be rolled forever._

_"So beware, son, of the creature named "The Prince" and beware of the sticky ball they call "Katamari"."_

But Mako did not heed her wise words. He regretted that for the rest of his short life attached to the Katamari. (11)

* * *

... Thus marks the first part of the Forest of Death!

Notes:

(1) **The Experiment** - This refers to the Naruto manga in the three year jump. However, what our creepy friend doesn't know is that there was one successful experiment...

(2) **Sasuke's revenge** - A while ago I mentioned that the only people who knew that Orochimaru did this was Naruto, the Third Hokage and what's left of the Uchiha Clan. Therefore, he isn't aware that Sasuke hates his guts.

(3) **Orochimaru didn't visit Konoha two years ago! You're talking crazy talk!** - In my fic, he did. Live with it. It plays a role in the story.

(4) **Kusa-nin** - Grass ninja

(5) **Wait, Orochimaru didn't teach the snakes how to talk!** - In my fic, he does.

(6) **Animalese** - Reference to Animal Crossing: Wild World. One of the many things which distracts me from writing more often.

(7) **Hebimaru** - Quite a simple name. "Hebi" means 'snake' and "Maru" is usually a common suffix at the end of boy's names.

(8) **The monkey riding a unicycle going "Wheee!"** - ... Not much can be said here. It's an extremely vague reference to Fairly Odd Parents.

(9) **Makyou Hyou Shou** - Demonic Ice Mirrors. Unique to Haku, this jutsu encircles an opponent with over a dozen mirrors fashioned out of ice.

(10) **Tsuchi Bunshin** - Earth Bunshin

(11) **Katamari** - Er... I have no idea how this idea formed. It just... Happened. Poor Mako. May he rest in peace.

... Before you begin to attack me, I had this planned from the start. The reason why Naruto didn't use his Kage Bunshin was because of the fact that it was too late to form a bunshin and he didn't stop to think.

So, please tell me what you think of the chapter! Just.. please don't hurt me. D:


	17. Inside the Forest of Death, Part 2

... Well, I suppose some of you are wondering what took me so long. I have several excuses.

By very horrible coincidence when I finished my chapter and was uploading it, my computer crashed and with it took down my unsaved Word doc. I really need to get a new compy. DX

Just recently I have had exams, which I feel that I've failed already. However, the holidays are almost starting, and I will be active! My personal goal is to finish a chapter or two before christmas!

Also, there's the fact that I'm a lazy bugger who procrastinates as a hobby. And is addicted to something worse than crack: Maplestory. That game is a drug, I swear.

**Reviewer's Corner!**

keight: Regarding your question about how often Kyuubi turns chibi-mode: very often. Besides, it's fun to write about. :D

**DBasty:** Correct! I got the idea from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends. That is one of the only shows I enjoy that's not an anime. :3

**Dragon Noir:** Well, in the anime, Naruto had made a passing remark to Kiba when he wondered why Akamaru didn't talk. He mentioned that Kakashi hand-raised his dog summons, so I assumed that he taught them how to talk. Besides, Orochimaru has too much free time on his hands if he spends it observing his "Target". He needs more constructive things to do. Also, that part with Mako is merely a filler. As we are all aware, fillers do not affect the main characters (ie. kill them off, etc.).

**Link Fangirl01:** Katamari Damacy: one of the most addicting games I have ever played. Rolling over things is fun. XD

To all of you people wondering what will happen to Naruto, read on!

**Disclaimer:** For the LAST TIME, I am NOT interested in your damn cooki- Oh.. You ain't girl scouts? Well, in any case, I don't own Naruto. And no, I am not interested in your girl scout cookies. So shoo. Go on, get.

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Orochimaru was pissed beyond all reason. He did not expect the blond idiot to recieve his present intended for his Sasuke-kun. His biggest concern was the fact that the brat had Kyuubi in him. With the nine-tailed fox's powers, who knew how it would affect his curse seal?

Focusing on his task ahead, he instructed his Sound team to test Sasuke's skills. Watching them leave he instructed Kabuto to watch over the Team 7, only to make his presence known to them if either his genin team were winning or after the battle.

Still cursing slightly, Orochimaru left the Forest of Death and transformed into the Jounin sensei disguise he had used to enter the village.

It seemed that everything seemed to turn against him today.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes._ 'Ugh... I feel like I've been bitten in the shoulder or something... Wait a minute. Why aren't I saying this out loud? Or, rather, why am I in my mind?'_ Looking around for the first time, he noticed a couple of things that seemed very wrong in his realm of thought. 

One. Remembering that this is the first time in a long time that he truly checked himself while in his mind, he noticed that he looked like an adult.

Two. His normally annoying "Kyuubi-sensei" was not pestering him for once. Instead he was growling at something.

Three. Upon closer inspection he realised that 'Something' was a certain creepy snake pedophile intent on possessing his mind.

"Kukukuku... Is this it?" chuckled 'Orochimaru'. "All I have to do here is just defeat you and then I can take control of this pitiful mind. The only thing I wonder... Your current form should reflect how old you truly are. You are only twelve, are you not? Then why are you an adult?"

_'Uh...'_

"Well, no matter. Once I defeat you, I will be able to tell my true self through your own lips. Then you shall become a servant for me, Kyuubi brat." Cackling, the imitation transformed into a large snake. With a sadistic grin the serpent charged at the unusually calm looking Naruto.

_'There are a few flaws in your plan to take over my mind. One of them include that you forget my tenant.'_

"Kukukuku... You seemed to have forgotten the fact that the demon is inside the cage. You are MINE!"

_'Oh? Then who's that behind you?'_

Orochimaru, deciding to humour the brat, looked behind him. He saw the Kyuubi in its cage.

"What about it? He's still trapped in the cage."

Grinning, Naruto merely snapped his fingers. In an instant the cage disappeared and in its wake was the Kyuubi in all its glory. With a feral grin the fox raised a paw at the now surprised and terrified snake.

**"Yo."**

* * *

"Hinata, we'll stop here for the night," said Sasuke, as he unceremoniously dumped Naruto against a tree. "Can you use your Byakugan to see if there are anyone near?" 

Nodding, Hinata activated her bloodline limit. "It appears that the genin team from Oto is heading this way, and I'm certain that they're not coming for some friendly banter. Also, I see Team Eight and Team Ten in the area."

"... I'll go set traps."

"For who? The Sound team or Ino and Sakura?"

Sasuke ignored her uncharacteristic remark as he began to prepare traps. He would much rather fight thousands of enemies than face the constant bickering of Ino and Sakura. Why is it that no one had ever asked him out instead of foaming at the mouth, screaming, or fainting? Besides, he already had his sights on someone anyway...

Hinata returned to her duties as the medic-nin by examining the strange mark on Naruto's shoulder.

"This seal... It looks like Sasuke-san's Sharingan..." she muttered worriedly. Then, she noticed that Naruto's expression, once contorted with pain had changed.

"He's... smiling?"

* * *

_'Kyuubi-sensei, at times like this I wonder how old you truly are,'_ thought Naruto as he watched his tenant happily chewing on his prey like a puppy. 

**"... What? This is actually quite fun. You should try it sometime."**

_'I'll pass.'_

The dead serpent then abruptly poofed out of Kyuubi's mouth, leaving a sulking fox and a small yet alive snake.

_'... You've got to be shitting me.'_

'Well, congratulations for killing my former master.' The snake bowed. 'My name is Hikaru (1) and the reason why I'm here is to basically take control of your heart and kill you, your furry friend there, and myself instantly. I am able to, thanks to the curse seal.'

_'So, to put it bluntly, I'm gonna die, right?'_

'Not exactly. You see, I am what you would call a defect. To tell you the truth, I am a summon animal. When I "die", I'll just end up back where I started, which is in the summoning realm. However, the snake clan is in chaos, thanks to the recent assassination of my father, Orochi (2) and now the current reign of Manda.'

Kyuubi gaped at the snake.

**"WHAT?! Orochi, dead? He was one of the most powerful boss summons, second in power to none but myself! How did it happen?"**

Hikaru sighed. 'My father's love of sake had become his downfall, I suppose. Manda had made a pact with Orochimaru, promising him techniques guarded by the snake clan in exchange for Manda being in power. One night Orochimaru summoned my father and provided him large jars full of sake. When he was asleep the bastard summoned Manda and both killed my father. Incidentally, inside my father's corpse Orochimaru found the Kusanagi (3) and has since continued to wield it.'

After this Hikaru cheered up slightly. 'But this is where you come in. I need more time to be able to avenge my father, so I'll stay here and train until either you manage to kill Orochimaru or by some reason manage to kill yourself. Do we have a deal?'

_'Well, an enemy of that freak is a friend of mine. If he wants to, Kyuubi-sensei can help train you as well.'_ Naruto grinned. _'I'd shake hands with you, but.. You don't really have any arms.'_

**"I agree with the blond idiot. I'll help train you."**

_'Thanks, Kyu- OI!'_

**"Now that this is over and done with, I suggest you regain consciousness. Your team mates are probably worried about you."**

_'Hmph. Fine, I'll go... for now. I shall have my revenge soon enough.'_

With that statement, Naruto left his mind and found himself back in the real world.

* * *

Naruto groaned as he began to rouse from his sleep. 

"Sasuke-san! Naruto-kun's awake!" said Hinata.

"Ugh.. What happened?" he muttered. Suddenly, remembering what happened he groaned again. "That pedophile gave me a hickey, didn't he?"

"Yep. But we've got more pressing matters to attend to," said Sasuke.

"What could be more pressing than the disturbing fact that the pedophile gave me a-"

"The team from Oto are heading towards us, and Team Eight and Team Ten are near the area. I've set traps-"

"For who?" asked Naruto, "The Team from Oto or for-"

"Hinata beat you to that remark, Naruto."

"What?" Flabbergasted, Naruto stared at Hinata. "You mean... She's actually said..."

Sasuke nodded. Naruto grinned.

"Congratulations, Hinata-chan! You've finally managed to back-talk someone! I knew that I could horribly influence you one day!" With tears in his eyes Naruto glomped the now blushing Hinata.

"Na... Naru... to..." stammered Hinata. In her mind she was in cloud nine and on the verge of fainting, when-

Sasuke coughed. "Sorry to interrupt you lovebirds," At this Naruto quickly let go, "But we've still got people heading towards us. Naruto, check the traps I've set up. Hinata, use your Byakugan again to check how close they are."

"Fine, fine..." grumbled Naruto, "Though even I don't taunt you about your crush on-"

"GO," said Sasuke menacingly.

"Alright, alright... Sheesh, I was just going to tell Hinata-chan a little secret you told me years ag-"

"Naruto..." growled Sasuke. "One more word, and in a week, no one will be able to find your cremated body."

Hastily, Naruto retreated to check on the traps.

* * *

Close to Team Seven's location, three figures stealthily headed towards their targets undetected (A/N: Or so they thought). 

"Kin, are we there yet?" one whined quietly.

"We'll get there when we get there," whispered the one called Kin. "Now do us all a favour and shut up."

"Zaku, Kin, stop bickering. You two are both giving me a headache," said the third figure. The silence gave the leader time to think. The fact that Orohimaru-sama instructed them to specifically kill the Uchiha was suspicious. Why was it so important to kill him? If it was so important, then why didn't his master simply kill the target when he had a chance?

No sooner had he made that thought did Kinuta Dosu realise what their purpose was.

They were nothing more than a simple training exercise in Orochimaru's eyes. They were being used for the sole purpose of testing the Uchiha's strength. In Orochimaru's eyes they were nothing but mere pawns.

Dosu had a choice to make here. Should his team go and follow the instructions given? Or should they ignore their orders for the fact that they were treated like sacrifices?

He made his decision.

"Kin, Zaku, get into position. We'll assassinate the Uchiha before he knows it."

"What about his team mates? What do we do with them?" asked Kin.

"Whaddya mean, 'what do we do with them?' We kill 'em, of course," replied Zaku.

Though no one could see through his bandages, Dosu smiled. He would prove that he was not some kind of guinea pig. His team mates, maybe, but not him.

Coming to a halt, the team observed their targets.

"Sleeping like little angels," muttered Zaku. "I can't wait to wake 'em up and see the look on their faces when I slice 'em with my Zankuuha (4)."

* * *

Prentending to sleep and hearing every word, Naruto pretended to roll over and mouthed back, "... And I can't wait to kick your ass and make you literally want to eat your words."

* * *

"That girl's hair..." mumbled Kin. "It's shinier than mine. I'll bet that she's the weakest in the pathetic hovel they call home. Probably cares more about her looks than about her training."

* * *

Hearing this, Hinata thought, _'The fact that she judges people based on their looks shows that she's the weakest of the lot. I wonder what Naruto-kun thinks about my hair, though...'_

* * *

Dosu said nothing.

* * *

Neither did Sasuke.

* * *

Finally, Dosu spoke. "Let's kill them. Zaku, take the blond idiot. Kin, take the girl. I'll deal with the Uchiha." The two silently cheered. 

This was going to be easy.

* * *

While they weren't being watched, Sasuke mouthed, "Let's kick their asses. Looks like we've got our respective opponents." His team mates silently cheered. 

This was going to be easy.

* * *

Pausing quickly, Dosu scanned the area for traps. Though he was not what you would call an expert, he was decent when it came to traps. 

"All clear. These Leaf genin truly are pathetic for not even keeping watch or setting traps. They shall learn their lesson."

With that the three charged into the camp without warning.

They were surprised to see a large log hurtling towards them. With ease the three dodged it to fall into another trap. Zaku groaned.

"Oh... Shi-"

Dozens of weaponry headed towards them at an alarming speed. As cocky as ever, Zaku indicated that he would blast them away. He smirked and held out his palms.

"Zankuuha!" the result was a supersonic blast of air which easily knocked the weapons away. Zaku laughed.

"I never knew those weaklings were _this_ bad! And to think that I thought that this would be challen- OOF!"

His triumph was cut short by yet another log which decided to acquaint itself with his solar plexus.

"For the last time Zaku, get cocky when you've actually done your job or at a real advantage," said Dosu wearily. It seemed that another headache was coming up soon.

"I thought that the Oto-nin were supposed to be tough, Naruto. Looks like you've overestimated them." With a smirk Sasuke sat up and stared at them with disdain. "I never realised scum who serve slimes like Orochimaru were so arrogant and weak."

Kin stared at him with surprise and feigned innocence. "Orochimaru? What does he have to do with the Sound Village? I thought he died years ago."

A figure next to the Uchiha snorted. The kunoichi turned her attention to Naruto, who grinned and pointed to his ears. "I have here very good bullshit detectors and even without it I can tell you're lying. When we kick your asses tell that freak that I'm not ready for a relationship and that the hickey was disgusting." Without warning Team Seven struck, each attacking their respective opponents.

Hinata surprised her opponent using her speed and knocked her out with ease using the Jyuuken. "That was too easy," she muttered as she watched her opponent crumple into an ungraceful heap unconscious.

Zaku, still slightly winded at the blow from the log, eyed the blond warily. His opponent seemed relatively fresh. He, however had scratches in different places, a bruise beginning to form on his solar plexus and was still catching his breath from the constant running he had to do to reach the 'target'.

Screw the fatigue. The idiot was described by the spy as a hopeless dead-last with a small amount of expertise in traps and, oddly enough, marksmanship. Zaku reasoned to himself that he would be able to finish his foe with one well-placed attack.

"This is where you're gonna die. Zankuuha!"

Zaku smirked at the destruction he had created. His attack was strong enough to cleave stone. The blond didn't even stand a chance.

"If that's the only technique you've got, you need to learn more," whispered a voice behind him. His eyes widened. "Wha... When did you..."

Naruto tapped a pressure point lightly, causing Zaku to collapse, unconscious. "Most basic ninja technique - the Kawarimi. Tch. You should've listened to the weirdo in bandages. Cocky bastard."

Dosu cursed as his opponent narrowly dodged his sound-based attacks. He cursed even more as he noticed his team mates collapse. _'Damn... How much power does this guy have?'_ he thought angrily.

Sasuke, noticing that his opponent's movements became more sluggish, decided to end it quickly. He stood back and brought his hands into a seal. "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Clones seemed to pop out of nowhere and charged the bandaged ninja. Dosu used his Kyoumeisen (5) in response and managed to dispatch all. He noticed then that the original was nowhere to be seen.

_'Let's see...' _he thought_'He's not above me, or around me... which means he's... Under!'_ No sooner did he realise this that Dosu found himself neckdeep in the ground.

Sasuke revealed himself, pressing a kunai to his opponent's neck and smirked. "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (6), success. You should give up. I haven't even started showing my full power yet. You're tired, plus your team mates have been disposed of as well. I'm feeling particularly generous, and letting you go on the condition of giving us your scroll and leaving us alone. Fail to comply, and I won't hesitate to kill you."

The sound-nin sighed. "Very well. I comply to your terms. The female, Kin, has the scroll. But heed my words, Uchiha Sasuke. You will regret showing mercy, for we _will_ pass the second test and we _will _kill you."

"Oh, for fuc- Shut **up**!" shouted Naruto exasperatedly. "Do you Oto-nin _ever_ stop talking? If that dude with the holes in his palms gets any more cockier, I will personally rip his arms out and stuff it in his mouth! That girl won't shut up about hair, and you! You're at the mercy at your enemies, and yet you have the balls to threaten us? Heck, even _I_ know when to shut up, and I'm known as the loudest ninja in Konoha!"

Dosu did as he was told and shut up. The blond looked as if he was going to murder something, or him in particular.

Hinata completed scanning the unconscious Kin's body. "Sasuke-san, Naruto-kun, the Oto-nin was telling the truth. I've found an Earth Scroll."

"Good," said Sasuke. "Take the scroll. Since we've got the Heaven Scroll and the Earth Scroll (7), we can head towards the tower. Let's go."

"But don't you want to wait for your _girlfriend_?" teased Naruto, emphasising on the last word.

"Naruto..." Growled Sasuke warningly.

"Alright, alright..."

The Konoha-nin left the two unconscious plus one-stuck-in-the-ground-and-not-so-unconscious Oto-nin, Naruto raising his hand in a mock salute before leaving.

* * *

Kiba triumphantly held his prize he acquired from a 'generous' team from Mist. "Sweet! We've got the scroll, so now we can start heading towards the tower!" 

Sakura nodded. "That was surprisingly easy. All I had to do was use Genjutsu and you two easily finished them off."

Shino said nothing, but silently agreed.

* * *

"Apart from those weird techniques the Kumo-nins used, that was surprisingly easy," said Chouji thoughtfully as Team 10 swiftly headed towards the tower. 

"Shikamaru, I never noticed what a good tactician you were," remarked Ino, "The only thing I saw you were good at was Shogi, and that's a game for old people."

Shikamaru sighed. "We've been through this already. Shogi isn't a game for old people. It's too troublesome to explain myself again."

"Still, I can't wait until we get to the tower. Then I can see Sasuke-kun again!"

"I thought you said years ago that you only pretended to like Sasuke because Sakura did?" replied Shikamaru, dodging an incoming branch to the face.

_'Ino didn't deny it,'_ noted Shikamaru as he saw a smirk on her face.

* * *

**OMAKE!**

Ever since she was reinstated as a Konoha ninja, Rin had done nothing but missions non-stop. Today she was given the day off. She sighed.

"There's nothing to do..." she said to herself sadly. She sighed again. "I miss Karin-chan..."

No sooner had she said this did she recieve a package by the Courier ninja. "Rin-san, right? This was addressed to you."

"Ah... Thank you," she said, accepting the package. She was slightly bewildered. Why was she given a present and what was inside it?

She considered the possibility of Kakashi, but she dismissed it quickly. "He'd have given me a copy of that perverted novel of his..." she muttered. "I swear, when I meet that bastard who wrote that book, I'm going to kill him."

Jiraiya sneezed as he observed his... 'Data'. _'Someone must be talking about me...'_ he thought. _'Yet also I feel as if I should be fearing for my life as well as my private parts.'_ He shrugged it off._ 'Must be that weird Onigiri I ate for lunch.'_

Back to our brown-haired heroine, Rin decided that the package wasn't a trap and proceeded to open it. Inside she found a card.

"Dear Rin-san," she read aloud, "For now, please keep these. Your other present will arrive after the second examination. -Naruto."

She looked inside. There was a handmade samurai outfit which could fit a small animal. "It's even got a cute little katana!" remarked Rin. There was also a book entitled 'Making small, animal-sized clothes for dummies, morons, and the mentally challenged.'

Rin cackled evilly. She was aware of what the 'Other' present was, and she knew she was going to love this. For now, she found a new hobby. She was going to enjoy playing with Karin-chan and dressing it up in a wardrobe of different outfits.

* * *

Notes: 

(1) **Hikaru -** Means 'Shining', which has absolutely no reference whatsoever to his personality and whatnot. That's about it, really.

(2) **Orochi -** This is a reference in Japanese Mythology. Orochi is supposed to be a huge snake with eight heads and eight tails.

(3) **Kusanagi - **Orochimaru's trademark sword, meaning grasscutter. The hero Susanoo found the Kusanagi inside Orochi in the myth.

(4) **Zankuuha - **Decapitating Air Wave. Using the air tubes implanted in his arms, Zaku can control air pressure, creating supersonic blasts of air. These blasts are powerful enough to destroy stone. (Taken from Wikipedia)

(5) **Kyoumeisen** - Vibrating Sound Drill. By damaging the victim's inner ear, the victim is rendered off-balance and nauseous. It is a technique unique only to Dosu.

(6) **Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu** - Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique. The user, emerging from the ground below the target area, pulls down (or possibly swaps places with) the opponent so that only their head is above ground. (Wikipedia)

(7) ... Yes, I know that in the manga/anime Orochimaru ate the scroll. This one, he didn't.

Whew... This is the longest chapter I've written so far. Sorry it took so long!

By the way, should "Karin-chan" be a boy or a girl? I'm not sure what gender I'm making it.

Now, since it is midnight, I am going to go sleep n-


End file.
